Copenhagen Sprint preview: sprint stars set for high-speed battle in Denmark

The Copenhagen Sprint, as its name suggests, is built for the fast men. The recently introduced UCI WorldTour one-day race is tailor-made for sprinters and offers one of the calendar’s increasingly rare opportunities for a pure bunch finish.

In 2025, Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) won on the streets of the Danish capital after leaving the Tour de Suisse just days earlier. The Belgian returns to defend his title, although he will face a much deeper field this time, with several of the world’s leading sprinters targeting victory in Copenhagen.

The 2026 Copenhagen Sprint begins in Roskilde before heading towards the Danish capital after a 176km journey through the Danish landscape. The early phase should be fairly uneventful, although a breakaway should be able to establish itself before the riders enter a five-lap local circuit around Copenhagen.

The local circuit features 17 corners and plenty of road furniture for the riders to contend with, adding another layer of tension to what is expected to be a fast finale. Will a breakaway push the sprint teams all the way to the line, or will the peloton keep everything under control?

In 2025, a group of riders counter-attacked from the peloton on the local circuit and were only caught inside the final 1.5km, with a massive crash also affecting the bunch in the closing stages.

A victory on home roads would mean a great deal to Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), and his 2026 form suggests he has the speed to make it happen. The Dane has already taken several victories this season, although there are some question marks after a subdued Giro d’Italia.

For Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Copenhagen offers a chance to return to winning ways after two Belgian one-day races, the Antwerp Port Epic and Grand Prix Criquielion. The Belgian failed to win either, but he remains one of the fastest riders in the world and will be keen to fine-tune his form ahead of the Tour de France.

And then there is that other fast Belgian: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech). After a difficult start to the season at the Volta ao Algarve and Tirreno-Adriatico, he found his rhythm later in the spring, taking victories at Nokere Koerse and Gent-Wevelgem. 

Earlier this week, he decided to change his schedule and choose the Baloise Belgium Tour over the Tour de Suisse, focusing instead on speed. But Copenhagen may already give him a chance to build confidence ahead of the Tour.

Defending champion Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) also returns to the race he won in 2025. Repeating that success will be far from straightforward, given the strength of the sprinting field in this year’s edition, but Meeus has already shown he can handle the Copenhagen finale.

Other notable contenders include Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Ethan Vernon (NSN).