Lars Michaelsen

Lars Michaelsen (born 13 March 1969) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for Team CSC. He got his break through in his second year as a professional, when he won the 1995 edition of Gent–Wevelgem. In the 1997 Vuelta a España he won stage 1 and wore the leader's jersey for three days (stage 2, 3 and 5). In 2002 he finished fifth in Paris–Roubaix, a result he would duplicate in 2005. In the 2006 Paris–Roubaix he was once again in the group of favourites, but he helped teammate Fabian Cancellara win the race and finished 19th himself. In his last race, the 2007 Paris–Roubaix, he finished 11th after a strong race, where only a mechanical failure prevented him from following the favorites. Again a teammate, Stuart O'Grady, won the race. Michaelsen rode at four Olympic Games.^[1]

After retiring he became a directeur sportif, continuing with his final team until 2011 when he joined Leopard Trek. He subsequently returned to Team Saxo Bank in 2013.^[2] Following the end of the then-Tinkoff team in 2016, he joined the Astana Proteam in 2017.^[3]

At the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire, Michaelsen was driving the Astana team car when it crashed through a traffic island manned by a race volunteer. Consequently, he was given a period of suspension of 50 days and a fine of CHF 5,000 by the UCI.^[4]