Lorena Wiebes won the 2026 Copenhagen Sprint Women, returning from her Giro d’Italia Women disqualification with the clearest possible response in Copenhagen. The Team SD Worx-Protime sprinter launched inside the final 400 metres and proved too strong again, beating Charlotte Kool and Nienke Veenhoven after a controlled bunch sprint on the city-centre circuit.
Kool finished second for Fenix-Premier Tech after recovering from a late bike change with 11 kilometres to go, while Veenhoven delivered a strong third place for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Linda Zanetti was fourth for Uno-X Mobility, ahead of Chiara Consonni, Elisa Balsamo, Georgia Baker, home rider Amalie Dideriksen, Maggie Coles-Lyster and Kathrin Schweinberger.
The result gave Wiebes back-to-back wins in the Copenhagen Sprint Women and her 127th career victory. Coming in her first race since the Giro d’Italia Women DSQ, it also shifted the focus back onto her sprinting, with Team SD Worx-Protime controlling the finale and delivering her into the final straight with the race fully set up for her strongest weapon.
Rain and wind shape the early race
The second edition of the Copenhagen Sprint Women started in Roskilde and covered 156 kilometres towards the Danish capital. The profile was flat and fast, but the conditions added an extra layer of difficulty. Rain and wind made the early kilometres more nervous, and the peloton had to stay alert before the race reached the more controlled environment of the local circuit.
The first intermediate sprint came in Frederikssund, before the race began to settle. A group of seven riders then went clear, though they were never allowed the kind of freedom that might have turned the day into a breakaway contest. Their lead was still only 28 seconds when the move first gained daylight, and the peloton remained close enough to manage the race.
The second intermediate sprint came in Ganløse, with the break still out front, before the race passed halfway with 78 kilometres remaining. The weather began to improve as the day went on, with the rain easing and the first hints of sunshine appearing. That made the finale a little less chaotic, but the earlier conditions had already given the race a stop-start feel.
Breakaway kept within reach
The seven-rider breakaway included Andrea Casagranda, Olympia Norrid-Mortensen, Solbjørk Minke Anderson, April Tacey, Ida Krickau Ketelsen, Senne Knaven and Maira Susann Jasch. They contested the intermediate sprints and gave the race its main early shape, but the sprint teams never allowed the gap to become dangerous.
Team SD Worx-Protime and EF Education-Oatly were among the teams working in the peloton, with several sprint squads conscious that this was a rare opportunity to deliver their fast finishers on a flat course. The break’s gap was 1:10 with 100 kilometres to go, then 1:25 before the final intermediate sprint towards Rødovre.
That final sprint was taken by Anderson, ahead of Norrid-Mortensen and Casagranda, but the escape was already beginning to come back. A crash in the break with around 61 kilometres remaining involved Krickau Ketelsen, Knaven and Jasch, briefly disrupting the group before Knaven and Jasch returned.
Kathrin Schweinberger also had a mechanical problem with around 66 kilometres to go, but she recovered well enough to remain involved and later sprint into the top 10. As the race moved closer to Copenhagen, the peloton began to increase the pressure.
Peloton regroups before the city circuit
The breakaway was caught with 41 kilometres remaining, just before the peloton entered the local circuit in Copenhagen. That catch set up the race that had been expected from the start: a sprint finish after three technical city-centre laps, where positioning and team timing would matter as much as raw speed.
The first passage of the finish line came with 31 kilometres to go. The peloton was stretched out, and Uno-X Mobility, Team SD Worx-Protime, Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Canyon SRAM were all visible near the front. The local circuit demanded attention, with repeated accelerations and the constant need to protect sprinters before the final lap.
There was still one late attempt to disrupt the sprint. Silje Weitze Antvorskov, riding on home roads for the Danish national team, attacked from the peloton with around 25 kilometres remaining and briefly opened a small gap. Her advantage was limited, but it forced the peloton to keep riding and gave the crowd a Danish move to follow on the city circuit.
Antvorskov was caught with 15 kilometres to go, leaving the sprint teams to take over completely.
Sprint teams take control
Team SD Worx-Protime were already working before the final lap, controlling the pace for Wiebes and keeping the bunch organised. The peloton was down to around 70 riders inside the final 4 kilometres, with the repeated accelerations and positioning battle gradually reducing the number of riders still able to contest the finish.
Kool had a late complication when she needed a bike change with 11 kilometres to go, but she returned to the peloton by 8 kilometres remaining. That gave Fenix-Premier Tech back their main sprint option just in time, although the extra effort and disruption may have made the final positioning harder.
Inside the final 5 kilometres, Team SD Worx-Protime, EF Education-Oatly, Lidl-Trek, Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Canyon SRAM were all lined up near the front. Liv AlUla Jayco also contributed, while Canyon SRAM moved forward with four riders just under 3 kilometres from the finish.
Lidl-Trek tried to set up Balsamo, with Zoe Bäckstedt and Lucinda Brand visible in the closing kilometres. Brand was still leading out inside the final kilometre, but the race was about to swing towards Wiebes.
Wiebes finishes it off
The final straight opened with the main sprint trains still fighting for position. Brand was leading for Balsamo with 700 metres to go, while Wiebes sat ready to launch from behind the front line of the bunch.
When Wiebes opened her sprint with around 400 metres remaining, there was no real hesitation. She accelerated clear and held her speed all the way to the line, confirming again why she remains the benchmark sprinter in the women’s peloton.
Kool came through for second, salvaging a strong result after her late bike change. Veenhoven’s third place was one of the rides of the day, especially against such a deep sprint field. Zanetti’s fourth also continued a strong run for Uno-X Mobility, while Consonni, Balsamo and Baker filled the next places after being well positioned into the finale.
Dideriksen’s eighth place gave the home crowd a Danish finisher in the top 10, while Coles-Lyster and Schweinberger completed the first 10 after Human Powered Health placed two riders well in the final sprint.
Wiebes responds with Copenhagen repeat
This was the race many expected, but it still needed executing. The rain, wind, breakaway, late attack and city-centre circuit all gave the peloton chances to lose control, yet the sprint teams judged the day well. Unlike some recent flat races where hesitation has given the breakaway hope, Copenhagen was kept on a short enough leash for the fast finishers.
For Wiebes, the victory reinforced her status as the dominant rider in this type of race. The context made it sharper. Her Giro d’Italia Women ended in disqualification, but there was no carry-over in Copenhagen beyond the obvious motivation to return with a clean, emphatic win. She had the strongest team structure, the clearest sprint plan and the top-end speed to finish the job once the race reached the final straight.
The podium also showed the depth of the current sprint field. Kool remains one of the few riders able to challenge Wiebes consistently, even if this time she could not come around her. Veenhoven’s third place was another sign of her progress, confirming her as more than an outside sprint option when the finale is fast and organised.
Copenhagen again delivered the type of finish it was designed for: high-speed, technical, and built around team control. Wiebes simply remains the rider most likely to turn that scenario into victory.
Copenhagen Sprint Women 2026 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
