Sunday June 14th 2026: Copenhagen Sprint - Roskilde - Copenhagen (228 km) 

The second edition of the Copenhagen Sprint covers 228.2 km and confirms the race as a permanent fixture on the UCI WorldTour calendar. The start is at Stændertorvet in Roskilde; the finish is located in front of the Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) in Copenhagen. The route crosses North Zealand and Vestegnen, concluding with five laps of a 10 km city circuit in the Danish capital. Both the start and finish lie barely above sea level, and the highest point of the day reaches approximately 65 metres near Humlebæk — making this one of the flattest courses in the WorldTour.

From Roskilde (8 m), the peloton heads after a neutralised section via Jyllinge and Frederikssund, where the first intermediate sprint takes place at km 36.1. The route continues toward Hillerød (km 55.6) via Frederiksborg Castle, then turns north toward Humlebæk (km 80), where the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art lies along the route. After that, the peloton returns south via Fredensborg and Farum. At Ganløse (km 127) the second intermediate sprint follows. At no point in the first 170 kilometres does the terrain offer opportunities for riders who want to drop the sprinters definitively.

After Ballerup (km 148) and the third intermediate sprint at Rødovre (km 158.4), the peloton enters Copenhagen via Vesterbro. From Nørrebros Runddel, the five 10 km city laps begin, passing Assistens Cemetery, Sankt Hans Torv and the Royal Gardens, ending on the wide, straight finishing stretch in front of the SMK. The finishing straight is flat and wide, making a bunch sprint the most logical outcome.

In the first edition, in 2025, Jordi Meeus won the bunch sprint ahead of Alexis Renard and Emilien Jeannière. The Belgian from Red Bull‑Bora‑Hansgrohe was the fastest on the Copenhagen circuit and returns this year as the defending champion. The start list for 2026 is impressive: all eighteen WorldTour teams are represented, supplemented by six ProTeams and the Danish national team, bringing the total number of riders to 175.

That virtually every major sprint team sends its leader to Denmark reflects the growing status of the race. Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen line up alongside Meeus, giving the Copenhagen Sprint the proportions of an unofficial world championship for sprinters. The route offers hardly any room for breakaway riders or puncheurs: the light hillwork in North Zealand poses no obstacle for the fastest finishers. Unless wind or crashes push the race in a different direction, everything points to a bunch sprint on the city circuit as the decisive moment of the day.