Lorena Wiebes makes a winning comeback after Giro d’Italia disqualification with a commanding victory at the Copenhagen Sprint

From the start in front of Roskilde Cathedral, the 156km race went north along the Roskildefjord before turning inland in Frederikssund to wind its way through North Zealand, featuring three intermediate sprints along the way.

With 36.9km to go, riders entered the city-centre circuit in Copenhagen, and after crossing the finish line for the first time with 30.9km to go, three laps remained to the almost-inevitable bunch sprint. It started to rain early in the race, though the sun came out again in the final.

What to read next

A breakaway of seven riders formed within the first half hour as Olympia Norrid Mortensen (Danish national team) and Senne Knaven (Citymesh-Customm) were joined by Andrea Casagranda (Vini Fantini-BePink), Maira Jasch (Rembe Rad-Net), Solbjørk Minke Anderson (EF Education-Oatly), Ida Krickau Ketelsen (O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes), and April Tacey (Hitec Products-Fluid Control).

It was clear that the sprinters’ teams in general and SD Worx-Protime in particular were wary of letting the break get too far ahead, with the gap staying below a minute for a long time before reaching a maximum of 1:46 minutes with 58km to go.

Minke Anderson, the only WorldTour rider in the break, won all three intermediate sprints, earning herself a trip to the podium and a stay in the Tivoli amusement park. Knaven, Jasch, and Krickau crashed in a roundabout 62km from the finish, and while Knaven and Jasch could return to the front group, Krickau dropped back to the peloton.

The peloton at the Copenhagen Sprint (Image credit: Getty Images)

The peloton picked up the chase for real as it was weaving its way through the Copenhagen suburbs, catching the remaining six escapees in Valby, 40.6km from the finish. A counterattack was quickly neutralised, and the first lap of the city-centre circuit was uneventful until Antvorskov launched her solo move on Nørrebrogade.

The 21-year-old was never more than nine seconds off the front but held her gap for exactly a full lap before being caught. With 11km to go, Kool suffered a mechanical and had to change bikes. She was 23 seconds behind when crossing the finish line with one lap remaining, but made her way back and was then piloted to the front by her team.

In the final kilometres, the various sprint trains jostled for position, and in the end, it was Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) who led the peloton onto the final kilometre and through the last turn onto the finishing straight with her teammates Clara Copponi and Balsamo on her wheel. Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) brought Kool alongside, but when the British champion swung off, Wiebes launched her sprint and pulled ahead to win.