Philipsen, who was competing in his first race since Paris-Roubaix – and thus for almost exactly two months – won the final sprint ahead of Denmark’s Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Sam Welsford (Netcompany INEOS) from Australia. Andresen’s Norwegian lead-out man, Tord Gudmestad, finished fourth ahead of Danny van Poppel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) in what was his final race as Dutch champion.

Their designated sprint captain, Jordi Meeus – who had won the inaugural edition of the race the previous year – was brought down in a crash 19 kilometres from the finish, as were top sprinters Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets). The crash had completely changed the race situation. The breakaway riders, who had almost been caught at the time of the crash, thus managed to make it to the Teufelslappen and completed almost the entire distance of the 228-kilometre race ahead of the peloton, having broken away almost immediately after the start.

“It wasn’t easy getting back into the peloton after such a long break,” said Philipsen after his victory. The 28-year-old Belgian was nevertheless able to celebrate his third win of the season. “The crash had a big impact on the race. But it was the same last year; bad luck is part and parcel of sport. In any case, I’m happy with my form and the speed I had back in my legs.”

Max Walscheid (Lidl - Trek) was the top German in Copenhagen, finishing sixth. His team-mate Tim Torn Teutenberg also made it into the leading group.

Copenhagen Sprint 2026 – Results

>> All the details about the Copenhagen Sprint

This is how the Copenhagen Sprint 2026 went

On this flat, windy day, Belgian Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) and the four Danes Anders Foldager (Team Jayco AlUla), Levy William Blume (Uno-X Mobility), as well as Frederik Rodenberg and Mads Andersen (both national team), took the initiative immediately after the start and launched a breakaway. Whilst Rodenberg ran out of steam 55 kilometres from the finish, the rest made it all the way to the final, ten-kilometre lap through Copenhagen.

With a maximum lead of three and a half minutes, little happened during the race. Sam Bennett (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) was forced to abandon after a crash, and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) also fell during the race but carried on.

Although the breakaway had almost been caught 19 kilometres from the finish, a mass crash at the front of the peloton changed the race dynamics. Following the crash in a bend, around 30 riders managed to form an initial chasing group; Decathlon CMA CGM, Netcompany INEOS and Alpecin - Premier Tech were the main teams to push on, as their sprint captains Lund, Welsford and Philipsen had come through unscathed. Shortly afterwards, heavy rain also set in.

The four remaining breakaway riders took a lead of just under 20 seconds into the final 10-kilometre lap. However, with 1,500 metres to go, the group began to falter and were eventually caught in the final metres. While Decathlon set the pace for Lund, Philipsen moved from wheel to wheel to get onto the Dane’s back, and had to dig deep even before the actual sprint. Philipsen, however, had the legs to overtake the local hero.