CYCLISTS from Denmark

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Cyclists of all time. This list of famous Danish Cyclists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Cyclists.

1. Henry Hansen (1902 - 1985)

With an HPI of 60.87, Henry Hansen is the most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages on wikipedia.

Henry Peter Christian Hansen (16 March 1902 – 28 March 1985) was a Danish road racing cyclist who won two gold medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Hansen won the world title in 1931 and placed in the top 10 at three other world championships. At the Nordic Championships, he won the individual road race in 1925–1927 and 1929, and held the team title in 1926 and 1929. Nationally, he won the Danish championships in 1921, 1923, 1925, and 1930. In 1937 and 1938 he competed professionally without major success. After retiring from competitions he held various administrative positions, serving as Chairman of the Danish Cycling Union in 1967–1971. Hansen's niece was married to Knud Enemark Jensen, the Danish cyclist who died during competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

2. Tony Rominger (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 60.33, Tony Rominger is the 2nd most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.

3. Bjarne Riis (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 59.71, Bjarne Riis is the 3rd most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (Danish pronunciation: [ˈpjɑːnə ˈʁiˀs]; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed The Eagle from Herning (Danish: Ørnen fra Herning), is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France, then later admitted he illegally doped 1993 - 1998. For many years he was the owner and later manager of the Oleg Tinkov associated Russian UCI WorldTeam Tinkoff–Saxo. Other career highlights include placing first in the Amstel Gold Race in 1997, multiple Danish National Championships, and stage wins in the Giro d'Italia On 25 May 2007, he admitted that he doped with banned substances between 1993 and 1998 including when he placed first in the Tour de France, and he was no longer considered the winner by the Tour's organizers. In July 2008, the Tour reconfirmed his 1996 victory but with an asterisk label to indicate his doping offences. This was done after the UCI claimed their was a 10 year statute of limitations (even though when Lance Armstrong was later stripped of his Tour titles, some of them were more than 10 years prior). In 2025, Riis said in an interview he had no regrets that he had cheated by doping, supposedly as with no penalty imposed and no stripping of his title, the records show he 'won' the Tour de France, admitted it and got away with it.

4. Willy Hansen (1906 - 1978)

With an HPI of 59.05, Willy Hansen is the 4th most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Willy Falck Hansen (4 April 1906 – 18 March 1978) was a Danish track cyclist who won a silver medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics with Edmund Hansen and gold and bronze medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

5. Axel Schandorff (1925 - 2016)

With an HPI of 57.09, Axel Schandorff is the 5th most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Axel Schandorff (3 March 1925 – 28 January 2016) was a Danish track cyclist. He was born in Copenhagen. He competed for Denmark at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, United Kingdom in the individual sprint event where he finished in the bronze medal position. His daughter, Silja Schandorff is a ballet dancer, who was at the Royal Danish Ballet from 1985 to 2009.

6. Ole Ritter (b. 1941)

With an HPI of 56.40, Ole Ritter is the 6th most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Ole Ritter (born 29 August 1941) is a former Danish racing cyclist, mainly known for breaking the hour record in 1968.

7. Leif Mortensen (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 55.95, Leif Mortensen is the 7th most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Leif Mortensen (born 5 May 1946) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He won a silver medal in the individual road race at the 1968 Summer Olympics while finishing fourth in the team time trial. In 1970–1975 he rode professionally with the following achievements.

8. Jonas Vingegaard (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 54.85, Jonas Vingegaard is the 8th most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (Danish: [ˈjoːnæs ˈʋe̝ŋəˌkɒːˀ ˈhænˀsn̩]; né Rasmussen; born 10 December 1996) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike. Described as one of the best climbers of his generation, his rivalry with Tadej Pogačar is considered one of the greatest of all time. He is best known for winning the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Tour de France. Vingegaard, whose youth career initially saw limited success, made his Grand Tour debut at the 2020 Vuelta a España. Then, in 2021, he participated in his first Tour de France and secured a second-place finish. In 2022, he returned to the Tour as one of the pre-race favourites, winning the overall classification alongside two stage victories and the polka dot jersey. This made him the second Danish cyclist ever to win the Tour de France; this achievement, coinciding with increased public interest following the 2022 Tour's Grand Départ in Copenhagen, made Vingegaard a national hero in Denmark. In 2023, Vingegaard achieved his second successive Tour de France victory, before finishing second overall to his teammate Sepp Kuss at the Vuelta a España. For his achievements, Vingegaard was awarded the 2023 Vélo d'Or for the best cyclist of the season. In 2024, he missed several months of racing following a crash which punctured his lung. Despite this, Vingegaard returned for the 2024 Tour de France, winning a stage and finishing second overall behind Tadej Pogačar.

9. Mogens Frey (b. 1941)

With an HPI of 54.78, Mogens Frey is the 9th most famous Danish Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Mogens Frey Jensen (born 2 July 1941) is a retired Danish amateur cyclist who competed successfully both on the road and on track. He won, along with Gunnar Asmussen, Per Lyngemark and Reno Olsen, a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 4 km team pursuit and finished second individually. However, he is more famous for the way he won stage 9 in the 1970 Tour de France. Here, he defeated his own team captain Joaquim Agostinho. Agostinho was first over the finish line, but was immediately disqualified for putting his hand on Frey's handlebars, thus holding him back in the sprint. It was the only Danish Tour de France stage win until 1983. Frey also won the individual pursuit event at the 1968 world championships and finished second in 1967 behind Gert Bongers.

10. Charles Schlee (1873 - 1947)

With an HPI of 54.54, Charles Schlee is the 10th most famous Danish Cyclist.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Charles Wilhelm Daniel Schlee (July 21, 1873 – January 5, 1947) was a Danish American racing cyclist who competed 1902–1911, mostly in New Jersey. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and died in Cambridge, Maryland. He competed in Cycling at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St Louis, Missouri and won the gold medal in the 5 mile race. He also competed in the following events: 1/3 mile - fourth position 1/2 mile - eliminated in the semifinals 1 mile - eliminated in the first round 2 miles - place unknown 25 miles - did not finish