The Copenhagen Sprint, now in its first year, has received praise from riders for its decision to pay equal prize money for women's and men's races.
The Copenhagen Sprint, part of the World Tour, will feature a 151km women's race on Saturday and a 235.6km men's race on Sunday. Both races start in Roskilde and finish in the Danish capital, where several 10km city circuits will be run.
While interest in Denmark's first one-day WorldTour races is high, the organizers have already received praise ahead of the event for their decision to pay equal prize money for men and women. In recent years, efforts have been made in women's cycling to achieve equal prize money, but the response from organizers has been mixed.
The Flanders Classics was one of the first to introduce equal prize money at WorldTour level. The Tour of Britain Women also pays equal prize money, proportional to the number of stages in the men's race. However, such cases are rather rare.
According to Danish public broadcaster DR, the prize money for both the men's and women's Copenhagen Sprint is €40,000. DR also notes that this amount is the minimum that must be paid out in the men's race, but five times the minimum required in the equivalent women's race.
"Of course I'm happy that the Copenhagen Sprint will have equal prize money. It's a shame that in 2025 it's still something to celebrate," said former world champion and Dane Amalie Dideriksen (Cofidis).
"Many women and people before me have worked to ensure equality in sports. Women's cycling has developed a lot in recent years, so it's great to see it bear fruit," added 2023 and 2024 Danish champion Rebecca Koerner (Uno-X Mobility).
A strong line-up is expected for the first race in both the women's and men's categories. However, local star Emma Norsgaard (Lidl-Trek), former Tour de France Femmes and Giro Donne stage winner, will be sidelined after falling ill after the Tour de Suisse.
In his place, Denmark is represented by Dideriksen (Cofidis), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-Sram zondacrypto) and Koerner.
"I think it will be one of the greatest experiences of my life," said Koerner. "Racing on home soil will be absolutely crazy. And it could be my last ride in the Danish championship jersey, so it will be a special experience."
The biggest favorites in the women's race are world-class sprinters Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) and the versatile Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).
The best-known starters in the men's race are Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla).
