Mads Würtz Schmidt (ColoQuick) confirmed that he is destined for a great future when he took a surprise victory in the Tour of Denmark time trial. The former junior world champion covered the 13.6km course in Helsingør in 15.45 which was 15 seconds faster than Christopher Juul Jensen (Tinkoff-Saxo) who moved into the race lead.

Four years ago Mads Würtz Schmidt grew to fame in Denmark when he became a surprise junior world time trial champion on home soil. Since then, he has mostly stayed out of the spotlight but today he proved that he is ready to hit the biggest scene.

Würtz Schmidt surprised most when he won the Tour of Denmark time trial, again claiming a big win in his home country. This time the win was even more prestigious as he beat several professional riders on his way to the win.

With a solid ride in the queen stage, Würtz Schmidt was a relatively late starter and he covered the 13.6km power course in 15.45 to take the lead with a 15-second margin over previous leader Søren Kragh Andersen (Trefor). Even though pre-race favourite Rasmus Quaade (Cult) had already been on the course, he faced a nervous wait as the overall contenders were still left.

However, neither Lars Boom (Astana) nor Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) who suffered a puncture in the finale, could beat the young Dane and so it was left to the riders fighting for the overall win to try to beat the Dane. None of them were even close and so Würtz Schmidt took a surprise win.

The other big winner was Christopher Juul Jensen who had started the stage in third with a 12-second deficit to overall leader Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal). The Danish champion stopped the clock in 16.00 to take second and move into the race lead.

For Bak, the day ended as a disaster. At the intermediate check, he had already lost 14 seconds to Juul and it was evident that he was not going to defend his lead. However, he punctured inside the final kilometre and when he unclipped after his bike change, he could only manage 16.57.

Luckily, it was enough to defend second place but he now trails Juul Jensen by 45 seconds while Marco Marcato (Wanty) is 8 seconds further adrift in third. Juul now just has to get safely through tomorrow’s flat final stage which ends with laps of a flat circuit in Copenhagen where the sprinters have usually taken the win.

A flat time trial

After the sprint stage in the morning, it was time for the decisive time trial which brought the riders over 13.6km around the city of Helsingør. The course was completely flat and without major technical challenges, meaning that it was stage for the biggest specialists.

It was a beautiful sunny evening in Denmark when Heine Dunding (Almeborg) rolled down the ramp as the first rider. He stopped the clock in 18.15 to take an early lead but already the second rider, Rune Almindsø (ColoQuick) went faster with 17.59.

Best time for Fominykh

Mathias Westergaard (Almeborg) proved to be more than one minute faster as he stopped the clock in 16.49 to move into the lead and he led the race for almost 15 minutes before Kasper Asgreen (Denmark) lowered the mark, stopping the clock in 16.38. The Danish dominance was finally broken when Daniil Fominykh (Astana) crossed the line in 16.15.

That time proved to be hard to beat. The first rider to get close was Brian van Goethem (Roompot) but 16.40 was only good enough for third.

Disappointing ride for Quaade

Former white jersey Mads Pedersen (Cult) was on a good day and he was the second rider to go below 16.30 when he stopped the clock in 16.27 while his teammate Martin Mortensen could only manage 16.55. Another Dane, Martin Toft Madsen did well to slot into sixth.

Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Trefor) continued his great race when he set a time of 16.21 which was enough to move into second but most had their eyes on one of the pre-race favourites, Rasmus Quaade (Cult). However, the former Danish champion could only manage 16.29 which was enough for fourth.

Würtz Schmidt takes the lead

Fominykh was finally beaten when Søren Kragh Andersen (Trefor) set a time of 16.00 which was a massive 15 seconds faster than the time of the Kazakh.  That made it two brothers in the top 3 until Michael Valgren (Tinkoff-Saxo) beat Asbjørn by fractions of a second to move into third.

Lars Boom (Astana) had a poor ride for 16.33 but all eyes now were on Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN-Qhubeka) who had set an intermediate time of 8.11. However, while everybody was waiting for the Norwegian, Würtz Schmidt powered across the line in 15.45 to take a comfortable lead.

Juul takes the overall lead

Magnus Cort (Denmark) and Jay McCarthy (Tinkoff-Saxo) were both far off the pace before Boasson Hagen saw his great ride being destroyed by a puncture in the finale. Hence, the stopped the clock in 16.18 which was far off the pace.

As expected, Matti Breschel (Tinkoff-Saxo) was not in contention with 17.21 and was passed in the GC by Rasmus Guldhammer (Cult) who stopped the clock in 16.38. Moments later, Juul Jensen powered across the line to slot into second and as Marco Marcato (Wanty) could only manage 17.02 and Bak punctured, it was enough to take the overall lead.