A lot has happened since Bjarne Riis' 1996 Tour de France victory. More than a decade after that...
Riis has a checkered past with Le Tour (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
A lot has happened since Bjarne Riis' 1996 Tour de France victory. More than a decade after that now-tarnished win, the attention it has bestowed upon this private man is still a burden. Cyclingnews' Kirsten Robbins spoke with Riis about his struggle with the spotlight, its effects on his public portrait and his personal life, and those who doubt his credibility.
At his height of fame, Bjarne Riis was hailed as Denmark's sports figure of the century. At his lowest, he was reviled as a confessed doper who cheated to achieve his greatest victory. Now, he is regarded as one of the strongest team managers in the sport and he leads his riders with a fatherly mix of discipline and encouragement.
Riis credits his career successes to two influential men in his life: his father, Preben, who passed away less than a year ago, and his mentor, Laurent Fignon.
Riis' father recognised his son's undeniable talent for cycling at an early age, and the two developed a close bond through the sport. "My father followed me everywhere I went," says Riis, who now resides in Lugano, Switzerland, with his partner Anne-Dorthe and five children - Jesper (19), Thomas (16), Christian (six), Mattias (five) and Andreas (three). None are cyclists... yet.
"My father was a big part of my life, especially when I was a kid. I don't know how he knew about training, but he did," explains Riis. "He pushed me, no doubt about it. But I liked to be pushed. There's a lot of talk about dads pushing their kids to be better, too early, because of their own ego. I don't care about that, I liked it."
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
