The contenders who stand out from this year’s youth class are slowly emerging, including Senna Remijn of the Netherlands, Felix-Orn Kristoff of Norway, Jakob Omrzel of Slovenia and Denmark’s Albert Philipsen. The latter, who is the current world age-group champion and has already signed a professional contract with Lidl-Trek, celebrated his third victory of the season after winning two Danish regional events.

The fifty-second edition of the event took place from 2 to 5 May. The first stage, on a hilly course, saw the peloton spread out, with Czech Pavel Sumpik winning the stage ahead of Philipsen and Orn-Kristoff, winner of last year’s Hungarian round. In the 8.8-kilometre individual time trial the following morning, Philipsen took the yellow jersey. In the peloton in the second half stage of the afternoon saw other riders get their chance, with Ireland’s Seth Dunwoody celebrating.

The uphill nature of the third stage again made things difficult for the riders, with five riders finishing together, three Danes and two Norwegians, with Denmark’s Anton Louw Larsen finishing first. The final stage favoured the sprinters, and to the delight of the home nation, Krystof Král was the winner.

Albert Philpsen confidently won the general classification ahead of Senna Remijn of the Netherlands and Pavel Sumpik of the Czech Republic. The Hungarian national team also competed in the event, with Barnabás Vas finishing in 52nd place, but Tamás Hancz, András Pakot and Gábor Kőrösi also finished well.

The Netherlands currently lead the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) national rankings, with Denmark second and Spain third.

The Nations’ Cup series continues on 11-12 May with the Italian G.P. F.W.R Baron – Trofeo Comune di Pieva del Grappa.

Of course, there will also be a home Nations’ Cup race in 2024, which, as originally planned, will welcome cyclists as the eleventh round of the twelve-round series on 14-15 August.