Big surprises at Danish TT nationals as club rider and devo talent stun the elite
Denmark crowned two unlikely time trial champions in Herning on Friday as Sif Nikoline Bendix Madsen and Kristian Egholm delivered the standout performances of the national championships.
In the women’s race, Bendix Madsen produced the result of her career to beat-pre race favourite Gertrud Riis Madsen by nine seconds over the 29.2 kilometer course.
Racing for Aalborg Cykle-Ring rather than a professional trade team, Bendix Madsen stopped the clock at 37 minutes and 8 seconds. She was only the ninth rider to finish, but her time survived every challenge that followed.
For Bendix Madsen, the victory represented a major breakthrough. After taking more than two minutes off the early benchmark, she faced a long wait in the leader’s chair as the favourites came home. None of them could dislodge her.
Emma Norsgaard Bjerg, the most decorated rider in the field, finished seventh after a difficult build up to the event. The Lidl-Trek rider had already played down her chances following several weeks of stomach problems and was more than two minutes behind the winning time.
There was an equally unexpected outcome in the men’s race, where 22 year old Kristian Egholm edged Mikkel Bjerg by just 0.38 seconds.
Egholm, who rides for Lidl-Trek Future Racing, set an early target of 33 minutes and 20 seconds before watching the biggest names in Danish cycling try to overhaul him.
Bjerg came closest. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was ahead at the final intermediate check and looked capable of turning that advantage into victory, but he faded just enough on the run to the line.
The margin was barely visible on the clock, but it was enough to hand Egholm the biggest win of his young career.
Peter Øxenberg continued the strong showing from Denmark’s emerging generation by taking bronze, five seconds behind the winner. The Netcompany Ineos rider finished ahead of several established specialists, including Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), who placed fourth at more than eight seconds.
Mads Pedersen, the biggest draw for the crowd in Herning, had to settle for seventh. The Lidl-Trek leader finished 27 seconds behind his development team colleague.
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