Michael Rasmussen

Michael Rasmussen (born 1 June 1974) is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who rides for the Danish team Christina Watches-Onfone. In the 2007 Tour de France, Rasmussen, while in the yellow jersey, had his contract terminated by his team and was removed from the Tour. He served a two-year ban from July 2007 to July 2009, for lying about his whereabouts.

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. With a staggeringly low weight (60 kg) he is usually one of the lightest riders in his class. He is known for peeling off unnecessary stickers from his bike, not wearing the Livestrong wristband which has become common among many Tour de France riders, due to the additional grams. He used to count each grain of rice before eating and had water with his breakfast cereal, not milk. 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.