Biography

Michael Rasmussen (born June 1, 1974 in Tølløse) is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who rode for the Dutch team Rabobank. Specializing in climbing, Rasmussen has shown a propensity for attempting spectacular wins in mountain stages in which he breaks away from the peloton early and rides alone for most of the stage.

Michael Rasmussen is known for his care for detail when considering weight. He is known for peeling off unnecessary stickers from his bike, not wearing theLivestrong wristband which has become common among many Tour de France riders, due to the additional grams. He only carries one water bottle holder and his Colnago Extreme-C bike weighed 6.81 kg, only 10 g more than the minimum limit.

His nickname in Danish is Kyllingen (English: The Chicken), originating from his period as a mountain biker when teammates were watching the Danish children’s TV show, Bamses Billedbog, about a bear and a chicken. A large team mechanic was nicknamed Bear, and so Rasmussen was dubbed The Chicken.

In the 2007 Tour de France, Rasmussen, while in the yellow jersey, had his contract terminated by the Rabobank team and was removed from the Tour.

(Source: Wikipedia)