Former Team Saxo-Tinkoff Manager Bjarne Riis Starting New Cycling Team

Tour de France winner and former Team Saxo-Tinkoff Manager Bjarne Riis on Thursday said that he is "setting up a new team he hopes will compete" in cycling's World Tour in '17, according to Philip O'Connor of REUTERS. Riis, 51, won the Tour in '96 and "was feted as the greatest Danish cyclist of the modern era, but subsequently admitted to having doped during his career." Riis has been out of the sport since leaving his post at Team Saxo-Tinkoff in March '15 "following the breakdown of his relationship" with team Owner Oleg Tinkov. Riis said, "I feel ready and motivated to come back to the sport." He said that he had not finalized "how the team would be put together." Riis: "I will certainly be involved in a leadership role, as I have been." He will be joined by former Saxo Dir Lars Seier Christensen and they will "seek to develop several businesses alongside the team, including simulators and a fitness app" (REUTERS, 2/25).