Michael Mørkøv Christensen (; born 30 April 1985) is a Danish former

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2024. He is the brother of racing cyclists Jacob and Jesper Mørkøv.

Career

Born in Kokkedal, Mørkøv started as a track cyclist, becoming national champion in the points race in 2004. In the 2008 Olympic games, he won the silver medal in the team pursuit. As a road cyclist, Mørkøv became national time trial champion in 2005. Mørkøv rode the

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2011 Giro d'Italia Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

, finishing both. Mørkøv rode his first Tour de France in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, drawing attention by featuring in the most important escapes of the first three stages, where he gained enough points to lead the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

. He held polka-dot jersey until stage 7, where stage winner

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...

took it. In 2013, he won Stage 6 in the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

. In August 2015, it was announced that Mørkøv would join for the 2016 season, at the request of

Alexander Kristoff Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . A sprinter and classics rider, Kristoff is the most successful Norwegian cyclist by number of wins, having taken alm ...

, with a view to working for Kristoff as part of his sprint train and as a

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their cycling team, team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équip ...

in the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. Mørkøv joined the Belgian Quick Step team in 2018 and since then has acted as a successful lead-out man for Sam Bennett and then, as a late replacement for Bennett as the team's sprinter for the

2021 Tour de France The 2021 Tour de France was the 108th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tour (cycling), grand tours. Originally planned for the Denmark, Danish capital of Copenhagen, the start of the 2021 Tour (known as the ) was trans ...

Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...

. Mørkøv has been highly praised; Cavendish said "It’s a known fact Michael is the best leadout man in the world" and retired sprinter

Marcel Kittel Marcel Kittel (born 11 May 1988) is a German former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2019 for the , and squads. As a junior, he specialised in time trials, even winning a bronze medal in the World Championships for cycli ...

said "Many sprinters would win with him as the last man on the sprint train". In 2021, when the Madison track race was reinstated into the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020, Mørkøv won the gold medal (partnered with

Lasse Norman Hansen Lasse Norman Leth; né Norman Hansen; (born 11 February 1992) is a Danish professional road and track racing cyclist, who currently rides for Danish club team Team CO:PLAY–Giant Store. During his track cycling career, he has won five medals (i ...

Major results

Road

;2004 : 3rd Speditørløbet ;2005 : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Team time trial, National Championships ;2006 : 1st Post Cuppen Skive : 2nd Team time trial, National Championships : 4th Rund um den Elm ;2007 : 2nd Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften ;2008 : 1st Midt Data Løbet : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Team time trial, National Championships : 1st Stage 2 Giro del Capo : 2nd Speditørløbet : 2nd

Duo Normand The Duo Normand is a two-man team time trial (against the clock) for elite racing cyclists. Held annually at Marigny-le-Lozon in Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive wi ...

: 9th GP Nordjylland ;2009 : 7th

Châteauroux Classic The Châteauroux Classic de l'Indre Trophée Fenioux was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Indre, France, starting and finishing in Châteauroux. It was created in 2004 and since 2005 the race had been organi ...

;2010 : 1st Herlev-løbet : 3rd

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Championships : 4th Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

;2011 : 1st Fyen Rundt : 3rd Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish multi-day professional road cycling race. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostNord Danmark Rundt. The race is sometimes called the Tou ...

: 8th

GP Herning Grand Prix Herning is a one-day road bicycle race held in Midtjylland, Denmark. The race is organised by Herning Bicycle Club with both start and goal in Herning. The race is characterised by its gravel paths, which result in multiple punctur ...

: 10th

Himmerland Rundt The Himmerland Rundt is a one-day road cycling race held annually in the Danish region of Himmerland. It is organized as a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were intro ...

;2012 : 3rd

, National Championships : 4th Overall Post Cuppen ::1st Roskilde ::1st Ringsted :

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

::Held

after Stages 1–6 :: Jersey red number

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...

Stage 3 & 13 ;2013 (2 pro wins) : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Road race, National Championships : 1st Stage 6

: 2nd

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...

: 4th Overall

Tour de l'Eurométropole The Circuit Franco-Belge is a single day cycling race held annually in Belgium and France. The race was previously known as the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde in 2011 and as the Tour de l'Eurométropole from 2012 to 2021. From 2005 to 2015 the Tour de ...

;2014 : 3rd Road race, National Championships : 3rd Overall

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a UCI race classifications, 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the UCI World Tour, World Tour, by the ...

: 5th Overall

Tour of Qatar The Tour of Qatar was an annual professional cycling stage race held in Qatar. First organized in 2002, the event was part of the UCI Asia Tour until 2016. The 2017 edition was to have seen the event upgraded to the UCI World Tour for the firs ...

;2015 (1) : 1st Stage 6

;2016 : 10th

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

;2018 (1) : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Road race, National Championships : 2nd Fyen Rundt ;2019 (1) : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Road race, National Championships : 3rd

London–Surrey Classic The London–Surrey Classic (also known as the RideLondon–Surrey Classic) was an annual men's professional one-day road bicycle racing, road cycling race, starting and finishing in London and routed via the picturesque Surrey Hills AONB, Surr ...

: 5th Road race, UEC European Championships : 7th

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also known as Great Ocean Road Race or Cadel Road Race is an annual professional one-day road bicycle racing for both men and women starting and finishing in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and routed along t ...

;2020 : 3rd Road race, National Championships : 5th Race Torquay ;2021 : 5th Elfstedenronde : 8th Classic Brugge–De Panne ;2022 : 7th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ...

;2023 : 9th Elfstedenronde

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Track

;2001 : 3rd Team pursuit, National Junior Championships ;2002 : National Junior Championships ::2nd Individual pursuit ::2nd Team pursuit ;2003 : National Junior Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Points race ::2nd Team pursuit : 2nd Team pursuit, National Championships ;2004 : National Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Points race ::2nd Team pursuit : 3rd UIV Cup München ;2005 : 1st UEC Champion Jersey

Madison, UEC European Under-23 Championships (with

Alex Rasmussen Alex Nicki Rasmussen (born 9 June 1984) is a Danish former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2016 for the , , , , and teams. Primarily specialising in track cycling, Rasmussen was also proficient in road rac ...

) : 1st Overall UIV Cup ::1st Stuttgart ::1st Berlin ::1st Amsterdam ::2nd Copenhagen ::3rd Bremen : 2nd Madison,

UCI World Cup The UCI World Cups are the World Cups for cycling disciplines organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale: * UCI Road World Cup The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long Road bicycle racing, road cycling competition held from 1989 until 2004 ...

, Sydney (with

) : 2nd Madison, National Championships (with Marc Hester) ;2006 : National Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Madison (with

) ::1st

Points race ::3rd Team pursuit ::3rd Scratch :

::1st Madison, Sydney (with

) ::1st

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

, Sydney ::2nd Madison, Sydney (with

) ::2nd

, Sydney ::3rd Madison, Moscow (with

) : 1st Omnium, Danmarksturneringen i Banecykling : 2nd Six Days of Grenoble (with

) : 3rd

Points race, UEC European Under-23 Championships ;2007 : National Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Madison (with

) ::2nd Points race ::3rd Team pursuit :

::1st Madison, Los Angeles (with

) ::2nd

Los Angeles ::3rd Madison, Sydney (with

) : 1st Six Days of Grenoble (with

) : 3rd

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

: 3rd Six Days of Zürich (with Danny Stam) ;2008 : National Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Madison (with

) ::1st

Team pursuit ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Scratch ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Points race :

::1st Madison, Copenhagen (with

) ::2nd Madison, Los Angeles (with

) ::2nd Team pursuit, Copenhagen ::2nd Team pursuit, Los Angeles : 2nd Silver medal olympic

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 2nd

Six Days of Copenhagen The Six Days of Copenhagen is a six-day track cycling race held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event was first held in 1934. The event is held at the Ballerup Super Arena Ballerup Super Arena (formerly Siemens Arena) is a multi-purpose i ...

(with

) : 3rd

Madison,

(with

) ;2009 : 1st Rainbow Jersey Track

Madison,

(with

) : 1st

Madison, National Championships (with

) : 1st

(with

) : 1st

Six Days of Ghent The Six Days of Ghent () is a six-day track cycling race held annually in Ghent, Belgium. It takes place in the Kuipke velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of ...

(with

) : 2nd Six Days of Munich (with

) ;2010 : 1st MaillotDinamarca

Madison, National Championships (with Alex Rasmussen) : 1st Six Days of Berlin (with

) : 1st

(with

) : 3rd Six Days of Rotterdam (with

) : 3rd

(with

) ;2011 : National Championships ::1st MaillotDinamarca

Madison (with

) ::1st

Omnium : 1st

(with

) : 2nd

, UEC European Championships : 3rd Six Days of Berlin (with

) ;2012 : 1st

Six Days of Amsterdam The Six Days of Amsterdam () is a Six-day racing, six-day track cycling race held at the Amsterdam Velodrome in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The recordholder for the Six Days of Amsterdam is the Dutch cyclist Danny Stam with four victories. The mo ...

(with Pim Ligthart) : 2nd

(with

) ;2013 : 1st

(with

) ;2014 : 2nd

(with

) : 3rd Six Days of Rotterdam (with

) ;2015 : 1st

(with Iljo Keisse) : 1st

(with

) : 2nd Six Days of Rotterdam (with

) ;2017 : 1st

(with

) : 2nd Six Days of Rotterdam (with

) ;2018 : 1st

(with Kenny De Ketele) ;2019 : 1st European champion jersey 2016

Madison, UEC European Championships (with

) ;2020 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Madison,

(with

) ;2021 : 1st Gold medal olympic

Madison,

(with

) : 1st

Madison,

(with

) ;2024 : 3rd Bronze medal olympic

Madison,

(with

Niklas Larsen Niklas Larsen (born 22 March 1997) is a Danish professional track and road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He rode in the men's team pursuit at the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships winning a bronze medal. Major r ...

) : 3rd

Madison,

(with

) : 3rd

Madison, UEC European Championships (with

Theodor Storm Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (; 14 September 18174 July 1888), commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German-Frisian writer and poet. He is considered to be one of the most important figures of German realism. Life Storm was born in the small t ...

)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morkov, Michael 1985 births Living people People from Fredensborg Municipality Danish male cyclists Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Denmark Olympic gold medalists for Denmark Olympic silver medalists for Denmark Olympic bronze medalists for Denmark Olympic gold medalists in cycling Olympic silver medalists in cycling Olympic bronze medalists in cycling Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Danish Vuelta a España stage winners UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Danish track cyclists Cyclists from the Capital Region of Denmark 21st-century Danish sportsmen