Chris Anker Sørensen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʰʁis ˈɑŋkɐ ˈsɶɐ̯ˀn̩sn̩]; 5 September 1984 – 18 September 2021) was a Danish road bicycle racer who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the Team Designa Køkken, Tinkoff–Saxo, Fortuneo–Vital Concept, and Riwal Platform teams. Sørensen then worked as a directeur sportif (and co-owner) for his final professional team, Riwal Readynez.[1]
 Sørensen at the 2011 Tour de Romandie | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname |
|
| Born | 5 September 1984 Hammel, Denmark |
| Died | 18 September 2021 (aged 37) Zeebrugge, Belgium |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role |
|
| Rider type | Climbing specialist |
| Amateur team | |
| 2001–2004 | Hammel CK |
| Professional teams | |
| 2005–2006 | Team Designa Køkken |
| 2005 | → Team CSC (stagiaire) |
| 2007–2015 | Team CSC |
| 2016 | Fortuneo–Vital Concept |
| 2017–2018 | Riwal Platform |
| Managerial team | |
| 2019–2021 | Riwal Readynez |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Career
Born in Hammel, Sørensen had a promising performance in the 2008 Tour of Austria, finishing fourth overall. A few weeks later, he competed for Denmark (along with Nicki Sørensen and Brian Vandborg) in the 2008 Olympic road race, finishing 12th overall.
Starting with the 2010 season, Sørensen, who lived in Luxembourg, rode under a Luxembourg license, since the UCI no longer allowed the Danish federation to grant Danish licenses to riders living abroad.[2] During the season, he won Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia.[3]
In the 2012 Tour de France, Sørensen finished 14th overall and was awarded the super-combativity award after an attacking performance in several mountain stages.[4]
In September 2015, it was announced that he would leave Tinkoff–Saxo and join Fortuneo–Vital Concept for the 2016 season, with a role to support Eduardo Sepúlveda in Grand Tours.[5]
In February 2018, he announced his retirement at the end of the season.[6]
Personal life
He commentated on TV 2 (Denmark) from 2017 until his death.[7]
Death
On 18 September 2021, Sørensen was killed by injuries sustained by being struck by a van while on a bike ride in Zeebrugge, Belgium; he had been due to cover the 2021 UCI Road World Championships, which started the following day.[8] According to a statement of the Brugge parket released on 19 September, Sørensen did not yield on a location where he needed to do so.[9][10][11]
Major results
- 2001
- 3rd Road race, National Junior Road Championships
- 2005
- 1st Stage 3 Ringerike GP
- 2006
- 4th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships
- 4th Overall Triptyque des Barrages
- 5th GP Demy–Cars
- 6th Grand Prix de Waregem
- 7th Omloop van het Waasland
- 8th Grand Prix Cristal Energie
- 2007
- 6th Overall Deutschland Tour
- 1st Stage 2 (TTT)
- 7th Rund um die Hainleite
- 2008
- 1st Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 3rd Grand Prix d'Isbergues
- 4th Overall Tour of Austria
- 1st Stage 2
- 2009
- 1st Japan Cup
- 2nd Road race, National Road Championships
- 5th Overall Tour du Haut Var
- 6th GP Miguel Induráin
- 8th Giro dell'Emilia
- 2010
- 1st Stage 8 Giro d'Italia
- 3rd Overall Tour of Slovenia
- 5th Road race, National Road Championships
- 6th Overall Tour du Haut Var
- 2011
- 1st
Mountains classification Tour de Romandie - 5th Road race, National Road Championships
- 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 8th Overall Tour du Haut Var
- 2012
- 1st
Mountains classification Volta a Catalunya - 5th Road race, National Road Championships
- 5th Giro dell'Emilia
- 8th Milano–Torino
Combativity award Overall Tour de France- 2013
- 2nd Giro dell'Emilia
- 10th Overall Tour de Pologne
- 2015
- 1st
Road race, National Road Championships - 9th Overall Tour of Britain
- 2016
- 5th Overall Tour La Provence
- 2017
- 4th Overall Kreiz Breizh Elites
- 9th Sundvolden GP
- 2018
- 10th Lillehammer GP
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
| Grand Tour | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | 28 | — | 27 | — | — | — | DNF | — | — |
 Tour de France | — | — | 34 | 69 | 37 | 14 | — | — | — | 84 |
 Vuelta a España | 19 | — | — | — | 12 | — | 18 | 29 | — | — |
See also
References
External links
- Palmares at CyclingBase (in French)
- Chris Anker Sørensen at UCI
- Chris Anker Sørensen at Cycling Archives
- Chris Anker Sørensen at ProCyclingStats
- Chris Anker Sørensen at Cycling Quotient
- Chris Anker Sørensen at CycleBase
