Henrik Djernis is one of two mountain bike racers who have won the Cross Country World Champion title three years in a row!
1992 - Canada - Bromont
1993 - France - Métabief
1994 - USA - Vail
Djernis has won the Danish Cyclo Cross Country National Championships ten times in a row from 1989 to 1998. He also won the title in 2000 and 2001.
Henrik Djernis was born on the island of Sjælland as close to Århus (Jylland) as you can come, in a village (Svebølle) near Kalundborg on the 22nd of April 1966.
Throughout his 20 plus year career, (he’s still competing) he has won more gold at championships involving bicycles, than they keep in Fort Knox (or thereabouts).
He started road racing at the age of 12 (1978), and the year after a friend came home with a prize he had won in cross. Henrik thought "So ein ding muss ich auch haben", and God knows he got it!
Let’s take it year by year:
1983: Danish Champion (junior) in Cycle Cross.
1984: Danish Champion (junior) in Cycle Cross.
1985: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1986: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1987: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1988: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, Bronze at World Championships in Cycle Cross.
1989: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1990: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1991: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, Silver at World Championships in Cycle Cross.
1992: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, World Champion in MTB.
1993: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, Danish Champion in MTB, World Champion in Cycle Cross, World Champion in MTB.
1994: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, Danish Champion in MTB, World Champion
in MTB.
1995: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1996: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
1997: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, Danish Champion in MTB, Silver at World Championships in MTB.
1998: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross, Danish Champion in MTB.
2000: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
2001: Danish Champion in Cycle Cross.
Give or take a little, this amounts to some 25 medals at national and world championships, now you don’t get that without taking a little on the side too. Like econdary places (5th at World Championships in MTB in 1996, 11th at World Championships in Cycle Cross the same year) not to speak about the World Cups - like winning in the MTB World Cup two weekends in a row in 1994 (1st and 8th of May in Belgium and England). Stuff like that!
In between he has shown up on the roads in Denmark, just to show, that he hasn’t forgotten that part of the game, and considering the fact, that the guy barely is 33 years old it might be worth giving a little warning to guys like Michele Bartoli, Rolf Sørensen, Franch Vandenbroucke,...He might still decide that something is missing in his Trophy Room!
Henrik has in principle retired after his Danish 2001 Cyclo-Cross Championship and another nice performance at the following World Championships. In principle only, because his sponsors have found a clause, that will force him to participate in a race or two yet!
Djernis is strongly expected to take over as Danish coach after this season!
Bio Submitted by Tom Ritchey
