Starting in Roskilde and finishing on circuits in the Danish capital, both Copenhagen Sprint races are highly sprinter-friendly, won last year by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who will both start as favourites to win again this year.
The finishing lap is just over 10km long through city-centre roads, with several 90-degree turns and sharp corners, which should make it technical, but the pan-flat parcours and shelter from wind should also make the race incredibly fast. This race is truly suited to the purest of sprinters.
On the women's side, the race is WorldTour, but this year teams have been given dispensation to miss one WorldTour race of their choosing, and four teams have opted for Copenhagen to be their skip, so only 10 Women's WorldTour teams will be in action. FDJ United-Suez, UAE Team ADQ, Movistar and AG Insurance-Soudal will all be absent.
The men's race features all 18 WorldTour teams, and a really stacked field of sprinters, comprising both those coming off the back of the Giro d'Italia and those seeking some final practice and warm-up before the Tour de France.
With many of the top sprinters set to do battle on the roads in Copenhagen this Saturday and Sunday, here is our rundown of the contenders for the men's and women's Copenhagen Sprint.
Copenhagen Sprint Women 2026 contenders
Wiebes won stage 1 of the Giro but was later disqualified and stripped of the win (Image credit: Getty Images)
In the women's race, there is really just one overwhelming favourite, not only because she is by far the best sprinter in the women's peloton, but because she heads to Copenhagen with a point to prove. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) has not raced since she was controversially disqualified from the Giro d'Italia Women for an underweight bike, but will make her return at the Copenhagen Sprint, where she'll be hoping to make it a triumphant one.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The defending champion and virtually unbeatable in sprints, she would have been the top favourite anyway, and the added fire in her belly only adds to her status as the most likely winner on Saturday.
In Wiebes' absence, Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) won four stages of the Giro and will probably be the rider who can push her the closest in Copenhagen, but in recent years, she's scarcely been able to actually beat the Dutch rider.
On a similar level is Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech), who has beaten her former teammate Wiebes before, but again hasn't really come close recently as the SD Worx rider has cemented her status as the peloton's unbeatable fastwomen. Balsamo and Kool should be fighting for the podium, though.
Elisa Balsmo had a very successful Giro (Image credit: Getty Images)
Canyon-SRAM have a couple of options in Chiara Consonni and Zoe Bäckstedt, but Consonni will probably be their number one pick and again will be aiming at fighting for the podium. Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) has really stepped up her sprinting this year and can also be considered among the top contenders this weekend.
Maggie Coles-Lyster(Human Powered Health) has impressed in sprints so far this year and should be up there mixing with the top five. Donning Danish colours, keep an eye out for former world champion Amalie Dideriksen (Denmark national team), who will surely get an added boost racing at home.
Other riders to keep an eye on include Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco), Alexandra Volstad (EF Education-Oatly) and Linda Zanetti (Uno-X Mobility).
Copenhagen Sprint Men 2026 contenders
Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) returns to the men's race as defending champion, and though he has four wins under his belt in 2026 so far, he will face some seriously strong opposition on Sunday and certainly isn't the out-and-out favourite.
He knows the finish, and he's clearly on good form, but the sprint field is stronger than it was last year.
Meeus recently won the Brussels Cycling Classic (Image credit: Getty Images)
Tim Merlier(Soudal-QuickStep) had a disrupted start to the year but has been strong since he came back, and will be chasing his first WorldTour victory of 2026 this weekend, which would be a very welcome victory before he heads to the Tour de France. It's a similar situation for Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who had a great Classics season but hasn't quite been there in the pure road sprints, so will be trying to reassert his dominance before heading to Barcelona for the Grand Départ.
Though the Copenhagen Sprint will be a pre-Tour tune-up for some, it will also offer up a rematch for a lot of the sprinters who are coming off the back of the Giro d'Italia. Of them, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) ended that race strongest, winning in Rome, and will be motivated to prove he is still at that top level.
Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) had some bad luck in Italy, but often excels in these fast and slightly more technical sprints. And Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) was fairly disappointing in Italy after his fantastic start to 2026, but will surely have an extra spring in his step as he gets to race at home this weekend.
Jonathan Milan finally won a Giro stage on the final day in Rome (Image credit: Getty Images)
Not many sprinters are squeezing in Copenhagen between starts at both the Giro and Tour – many are opting for just one of those Grand Tours this year – but that's what Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) is doing after illness forced him out of the Giro early. The Belgian sprinter seems to have permanent bad luck and health woes, and is desperately cramming in race days to try to get into race pace for the Tour, so it will be interesting to see what kind of level he is at this weekend.
The second tier of contenders includes riders like SamWelsford (Netcompany Ineos) and his teammate or plan B BenTurner, EF Education-Easypost's Estonian Madis Mikhels, whowas good in the Giro, Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla), JuanSebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Giro stage winner Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana), and Soren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility).
These riders will be up there battling for the top 10, but aren't obvious picks for the win – though that doesn't mean they can't spring a surprise
Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported on the ground at all of the biggest events on the calendar, including the men's and women's Tours de France, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a Espana, the Spring Classics and the World Championships. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
