PostNord Tour of Denmark preview - Pedersen and Philipsen return to action

For its opening stage, the Tour of Denmark heads to the country’s easternmost inhabited island, Bornholm, for a relatively lumpy 178.3km stage between Nexø and Rønne. Though we never get over 76m above sea level, there are four classified climbs, the first coming early on and the remaining ones on a circuit just north of the finish town, which is ridden three times.

Only 700m, the climb averages 7.4% and if it’s ridden hard, it will split the peloton, though the final ascent is well over 20km from the finish and it’s unlikely to prevent a bunch finish.

The race heads progressively west to stage two, starting and finishing just outside the capital city, Copenhagen. With only 855m of vertical ascent over the 100.5km, this really is a sprinter’s day, though there are some narrow roads and bottlenecks to add spice to the finishing circuit, which is ridden three times.

The race of truth comes on day three, a 14.3km time trial on the island of Funen, in Kerteminde, north of Odense. Almost completely flat, the only technicalities come early on, with six turns in the opening kilometre, after that it's one for the power riders.

We stay on Funen for stage four, starting in Svendborg, riding around the coast before crossing to the mainland and finishing in Velje, on the east coast. This is the queen stage, with well over 2,000m of climbing, much of it coming on a punchy loop west of Velje and on the closing circuit. While the bunch might stay together on the loop, three laps of the hard, technical circuit are another matter, with a 200m ramp where the gradient tips over the 15% mark, though the last 500m are false flat.  The distance and punchy nature of the final mean this is likely to be the most interesting stage to watch play out. 

Though it doesn’t really compare, the last day isn’t easy either. We head south from Hobro to Silkeborg, covering 157.4km, more than 1,600m of climbing and another punchy closing circuit. Though there are a couple of classified climbs on the run south, it is the local lap which is likely to precipitate the day’s action, with four ascents of a closing climb of one kilometre at 5% average gradient. The top of the climb comes just 400m from the line, so positioning and patience will be key to success.

If the Tour of Denmark were made for one rider, it has to be Mads Pedersen. Arguably the best Danish rider of the season so far, the Lidl-Trek rider hasn’t raced much since winning the points classification at the Giro d’Italia, but he had one of the most dominant spring campaigns of his career to date.

He took nine wins, including four stages at the Giro and was in the top 10 of every classic from Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, winning Gent-Wevelgem. The punchy finishes seem to suit him to the ground, and he’s won the race’s time trial more than once before. He’s also the Danish time trial champion and recently declared a desire to represent Denmark at the European TT championships. He’ll want to impress.

Having not raced since his horrific crash during stage three of the Tour de France, Jasper Philipsen’s form is unknown, and though he’s one of the world’s best sprinters and can climb pretty well, he may need time to get his racing rhythm.

If he’s flying, he’ll certainly give Pedersen a run for his money in the sprints, and it’s perhaps not too much of a stretch to imagine him winning all four road stages. However, he’s not great against the clock, he’s never won an ITT, and to win the GC, he will need to ride out of his skin suit.

If they’re looking purely for stage wins, the team may instead allow Tibor del Grosso his chance to take another step in his leadership development. The 22-year-old should suit the punchier sprints and is marginally better than Philipsen against the clock.

The home team, with an all-Scandinavian squad, will be desperate to win in Denmark this week, and though they have options, Wærenskjold seems their best bet for overall success.

The 25-year-old Norwegian has not won since tasting success at Omloop Nieuwsblad at the start of the year, but that victory proved his ability to sprint at the end of a gnarly race and he has bagged a number of top finishes since. however, stage one will be his first start since abandoning the Tour de France on stage 10 after a crash the day before.

As a former under-23 world time trial champion with a number of other wins against the clock, he can be expected to put in a top ride on Thursday’s stage and take an advantage into the final two days.

In Magnus Cort, UNO-X have the man who has won the most stages in the Tour of Denmark’s history, though he has never won the GC, finishing second twice, most recently last season.

It hasn’t been the debut season at Visma | Lease a bike that Axel Zingle would have wanted, but the 26-year-old Frenchman is a class act in gnarly sprint races. He is great at positioning and can look after himself in the chaos of a flat bunch kick.

He only has one victory since joining the Dutch-based team over the winter, taking the opening stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk back in May. However, he crashed out while leading overall two days later, fracturing a vertebrae.

If he’s recovered well, he could go well, though he’s not great against the clock, suited more to prologue-style races, so the middle-distance effort in Denmark might be a weak link.