The PostNord Tour of Denmark is just around the corner. No, in the coming days you don’t need to prepare for grueling mountain stages. Still, the Danish stage race is a joy to follow every year thanks to its exciting stages, complete with sharp climbs that turn each ride into a tactical battle. Who will take the victory this year? WielerFlits looks ahead.
The PostNord Danmark Rundt, as the race is also known, was first held in 1985. The Danish race quickly gained prestige, with big winners like Moreno Argentin and Kim Andersen early on the roll of honour. However, the race was not organized between 1989 and 1994. After resuming in 1995, the Danmark Rundt quickly continued its upward trajectory.
The race has now secured a permanent spot on the cycling calendar in August with Pro status (formerly HC) and has produced big winners in recent years. Jakob Fuglsang won the race three times in a row, while Mads Pedersen has also won the overall classification twice. The Belgians always perform well here too: Wout van Aert won in 2018, Remco Evenepoel in 2021, and Arnaud De Lie as recently as last year. For the last Dutch winner on the roll of honour, we have to go back a bit further. That’s Wilco Kelderman in 2013. He notched two of his four professional wins in Denmark.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Mads Pedersen |
| 2024 |  Arnaud De Lie |
| 2023 | Mads Pedersen |
| 2022 |  Christophe Laporte |
| 2021 | Remco Evenepoel |
| 2019 | Niklas Larsen |
| 2018 | Wout van Aert |
| 2016 | Michael Valgren Andersen |
| 2015 | Christopher Juul Jensen |
This year the race marks a milestone. For the first time in history, the PostNord Danmark Rundt will start on the island of Bornholm. If you look at the location of the island, you’ll understand why this is special. Bornholm lies all alone in the Baltic Sea, even closer to Sweden than to Denmark.
For the riders, this immediately means a significant transfer to the Hovestaden region (capital region, where Copenhagen is located), where on day two – fortunately for the riders? – a short and flat 110-kilometer stage follows. On day three, we will see real differences in the general classification when a 14.3-kilometer time trial takes place in Kerteminde.
PostNord Tour of DenmarkNexøSilkeborgThe queen stage of the race takes place on day four, as the riders cover 227 kilometers from Svendborg to Vejle. The stage finishing in Vejle is often the decisive factor in the Tour of Denmark. Since 2004, the route has almost annually included a stage to Vejle. Last year, Magnus Cort won here ahead of Arnaud De Lie in a finale that was a thriller. The stage includes nearly 2,000 meters of elevation, with the finish in Vejle climbing for a few hundred meters at nearly 10 percent gradient.
The Tour of Denmark can still be decided a day later, too. Although that stage contains ‘only’ 1500 meters of climbing, and the ascents in the finale are somewhat less steep.
The PostNord Tour of Denmark in 2025 is likely to be won by a Dane. All the Danish top riders will line up at the start in Bornholm on Tuesday, and there are quite a few of them these days. Mads Pedersen is the clear favorite, we can say. The Dane has already won the race twice in the past and is possibly having his best year yet in 2025. He has, among other things, already won four stages in the Giro d’Italia, Gent-Wevelgem, and a stage in Paris-Nice. Can anyone challenge him in the coming days?
The biggest threat actually seems to come from Pedersen’s own team, with Mattias Skjelmose also at the start. In 2023, Skjelmose and Pedersen already executed a one-two in this race, and it seems highly likely that might happen again. With Søren Kragh Andersen and Albert Withen Philipsen, Lidl-Trek also has two other strong Danes in the race.
Having mentioned Skjelmose and Pedersen, we must not forget Magnus Cort at Uno-X, which as a Scandinavian team has a strong incentive to perform well in this race. The team can rely on Cort but also on someone like Søren Waerenskjold. Of course, there are plenty of contenders from other countries, too. What about Tibor Del Grosso? This race should be a playground for him. And then there are riders like Axel Zingle, Lukas Kubis, and Nils Eekhoff.
Special mentions go to Jasper Philipsen and Fabio Jakobsen. Both riders make their return to Denmark after injury! They will go head to head in stage two, but will they be able to make an impact in the overall classification? That seems unlikely. The stage to Vejle was still too tough for Philipsen in 2022 – although he has since become a better rider.
The weather next week in Denmark is expected to be just fine. Temperatures between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius and dry conditions are predicted, so the riders will certainly have no reason to complain. The race will be broadcast on HBO Max and Eurosport. For exact TV times, check out our TV guide!
Svendborg) Vejle)
The podium of the Tour of Denmark in 2023 – photo: Cor Vos
