Bjarne Riis

Bjarne Lykkegård Riis, born on 3 April 1964 and nicknamed The Eagle from Herning, is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer and cycling team manager. He is best known for winning the 1996 Tour de France, where he dethroned five-time defending champion Miguel Indurain, and he also took the 1997 Amstel Gold Race, several Danish national road race titles and stage wins at the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia. Born in Herning, he turned professional in 1986 and rode for years as a support rider for Laurent Fignon before finishing third at the 1995 Tour, the first Dane on its podium. After retiring in 2000 he founded and managed Team CSC, later Saxo Bank and Tinkoff-Saxo, until his dismissal in March 2015. In May 2007 he admitted using EPO, growth hormone and cortisone between 1993 and 1998, and the Tour organisers reinstated his 1996 result in 2008 with a footnote acknowledging the confession.