The Copenhagen Sprint, held for the first time this year, has earned praise from cyclists for its decision to offer equal prize money for both women's and men's races.
As part of the World Tour, the Copenhagen Sprint will feature women competing on Saturday over a 151 km course and men on Sunday over 235.6 km. Both races will start in Roskilde and finish in the Danish capital, where they will complete several 10 km laps of the city.
While there is significant interest in Denmark's first one-day WorldTour events, organizers have already received accolades before the races have even begun for their decision to award equal prize money in both the men's and women's competitions. In recent years, efforts have been made in women's cycling towards equal prize money, but organizers' responses have been inconsistent.
Flanders Classics was one of the first to implement equal prize money at the WorldTour level. The Tour of Britain Women also offers equal prize money, proportional to the number of stages in the men's race. However, such instances remain relatively rare.
According to Danish national broadcaster DR, the prize fund for both the men's and women's Copenhagen Sprint is €40,000. DR also notes that this amount is the minimum required for the men's race, but five times the minimum required for an equivalent women's race.
"Of course, I'm happy that the Copenhagen Sprint is offering equal prize money. It's a shame that in 2025, this is still something that needs to be celebrated," said former world champion and Dane Amalie Dideriksen (Cofidis).
"Many women and people before me have worked towards equality in sports. Women's cycling has developed a lot in recent years, so it's great to see it bearing fruit," added 2023 and 2024 Danish champion Rebecca Koerner (Uno-X Mobility).
A strong field is expected for the inaugural event in both the women's and men's races. However, local star and former stage winner of the Tour de France Femmes and Giro Donne, Emma Norsgaard (Lidl-Trek), will be absent after falling ill following the Tour de Suisse.
Representing Denmark in her stead will be Dideriksen (Cofidis), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-Sram zondacrypto), and Koerner.
"I think this will be one of the biggest experiences of my life," said Koerner. "To compete on home soil will be absolutely wild. And it might be my last race in the Danish championship jersey, so it will be a special experience."
The main favorites for the women's race include world-class sprinters Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL), as well as the versatile Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).
The men's race features notable starters such as Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla).
