2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
Danmark Rundt
Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostN ...
was a men's
road bicycle race
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...
held from 22 to 26 August 2012. It was the 22nd edition of the men's stage race, which was established in 1985. The race was rated as a 2.HC event and formed part of the
2012 UCI Europe Tour
The 2012 UCI Europe Tour was the eighth season of the UCI Europe Tour. The 2012 season began on 29 January 2012 with the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise and ended on 21 October 2012 with the Chrono des Nations.
The points leader, based on t ...
.2012 Post Danmark Rundt - Tour of Denmark ''Velowire''. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
The race was won by Dutch rider
Lieuwe Westra
Lieuwe Westra (born 11 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the KrolStonE Continental Team, and teams.
Professional career
Born in Mûnein), Westra finished second at ...
Manuele Boaro
Manuele Boaro (born 12 March 1987) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Born in Bassano del Grappa, Boaro competed for U.C. Giorgione Aliseo as a junior, and and as an amateur. Boaro joined pr ...
of
Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
Tinkoff () was a Russian-registered professional cycling team from Russia and previously Denmark. It competed in the UCI World Tour. The team was owned by Russian Oleg Tinkov and, from 1999 until March 2015, was managed by former Tour de France w ...
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Organisers believe that this led to less spectators viewing the race than in the past and plan for the 2013 edition to start following the
.Post DK Rundt rykker tilbage til Touren ''Jyllands Posten'', 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
Schedule
Teams
17 teams were invited to the 2012 Danmark Rundt: 8 teams from the UCI ProTeams, 4 UCI Professional Continental Teams, 4 UCI Continental Teams along with a Danish national team under the Team Post Danmark name.
Stages
Stage 1
22 August 2012 –
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Djursland
Djursland () is a 44 km × 33 km hilly lowland peninsula in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, between Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe. Djursland protrudes into the Kattegat sea, as part of the larger peninsula of Jutland, ...
peninsula and passing through the town of
Grenaa
Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutlandic peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal seat, an ...
.1. etape Post Danmark Rundt 2012, Randers-Randers, 191 km Danmarks Cykle Union. Retrieved 2012-08-23. A crash involving around half of the field occurred 3½km before the finish before being won by German rider
of the Lotto-Belisol team.Greipel forbavsede sig selv med Randers-sejr ''Jyllands Posten'', 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2012-08-23.Greipel vandt i Randers efter massestyrt ''Jyllands Posten'', 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
Alexander Kristoff
Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2007 and 2011. His biggest victories have been the 2014 Milanâ ...
of
Team Katusha
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
finished second, with
Theo Bos
Theo Bos (born 22 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional road and track cyclist. An Olympic silver medalist and five-time world champion, he is the brother of Olympic medalist in speed skating Jan Bos.
On 29 November 2021, he announced hi ...
of
Rabobank
Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...
finishing third.
Organisers decided to award every rider the same time following the mass crash as the riders involved were part of the
peloton
In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
at the time. This is usually only done if riders are within the 3 km mark at the end of the stage, a decision which attracted some criticism from Michael Rasmussen.Michael Rasmussen: En skandalebeslutning ''Jyllands Posten'', 2012-08-23. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
Stage 2
23 August 2012 –
Løgstør
Løgstør is a town in Denmark with a population of 3,967 (1 January 2022) It is located 47 km west of Aalborg and 64 km north of Viborg. Løgstør's city centre consists of old streets with small houses built in the 1800s for fishermen and sailo ...
to
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Ã…rhus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...
,
Stage two was the longest stage of the 2012 race, starting in Løgstør on the
Limfjord
The Limfjord (Danish language, common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking Age, Viking times. However, i ...
and travelling generally south through
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. It passed through the town of Viborg before ending in Aarhus. It was described as a key stage with a possibly critical impact on the overall standings.2. etape Post Danmark Rundt 2012, Løgstør-Aarhus, 211 km Danmarks Cykle Union. Retrieved 2012-08-23. The stage was won by
Michael Van Staeyen
Michael Van Staeyen (born 13 August 1988 in Ekeren) is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2008 until 2022.
In March 2022, Van Staeyen announced that he would retire from professional cycling a ...
Silkeborg
Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Vejle
Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...
,
Stage three has been described as the toughest stage in the race and contained the most climbs.3. etape Post Danmark Rundt 2012, Silkeborg-Vejle, 185 km Danmarks Cykle Union. Retrieved 2012-08-23. The route initially ran north from Silkeborg through
Kjellerup
Kjellerup is a Danish town with a population of 5,223 (1 January 2023). It finished after the traditional climb of Kiddesvej, a 350-metre climb with an average gradient of 12.5% and a maximum gradient of 21%. This climb has been included in the Danmark Rundt each year since 2004.Kiddesvej i Post Danmark Rundt Danmarks Cykle Union. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
After a breakaway, which at one point reached eight minutes, most riders rejoined the peloton before the final climb of Kiddesvej led to a small group being able to complete the stage ahead of the main bunch.Nordhaug nappede kongeetape-sejr ''Jyllands Posten'', 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2012-08-25.Norsk etapesejr og gul trøje i Vejle Danmarks Cykle Union, 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2012-08-25. The stage winner was
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Lars Petter Nordhaug (born 14 May 1984) is a Norwegian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2017 for the , , and teams.
Career Early career
Nordhaug started his career as a mountain biker, but after finishing ...
of
Team Sky
Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the National Cycl ...
who took over the general classification lead from
Wilco Kelderman
Wilco Kelderman (born 25 March 1991) is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Professional career
Born in Amersfoort, Kelderman finished in seventh position in the general classification of the 2014 Giro d'Italia ...
of
Rabobank
Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
,
A short stage to allow for an individual time trial later in the same day, stage four saw the race move to
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
Faaborg
Faaborg or FÃ¥borg () is an old port town located on Faaborg Fjord in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen in Denmark. By road, Faaborg is located southwest of Odense, west-northwest of Svendborg, and roughly southeast of Midde ...
on the south coast, before passing north to Odense.4. etape Post Danmark Rundt 2012, Ringe-Odense, 90 km Danmarks Cykle Union. Retrieved 2012-08-23. Much of the route was wet and, again, produced a sprint finish which was won by
Alexander Kristoff
Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2007 and 2011. His biggest victories have been the 2014 Milanâ ...
of
Team Katusha
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
ahead of
Andrew Fenn
Andrew James Fenn (born 1 July 1990) is a British former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2018 for four different teams.
Career Junior and amateur years
Fenn competed in many sports as a child but concentrated on c ...
of
Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Soudal–Quick-Step () is a Belgian UCI WorldTeam cycling team led by team manager Patrick Lefevere. The directeurs sportifs are Davide Bramati, Iljo Keisse, Klaas Lodewyck, Wilfried Peeters, Tom Steels and Geert Van Bondt.
The team is nickname ...
and
Theo Bos
Theo Bos (born 22 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional road and track cyclist. An Olympic silver medalist and five-time world champion, he is the brother of Olympic medalist in speed skating Jan Bos.
On 29 November 2021, he announced hi ...
of
Rabobank
Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...
.Norske Alexander Kristoff vinder i Odense Danmarks Cykle Union, 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-25.Norsk jubel i Post DK: Det er fantastisk ''Jyllands Posten'', 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Lars Petter Nordhaug (born 14 May 1984) is a Norwegian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2017 for the , , and teams.
Career Early career
Nordhaug started his career as a mountain biker, but after finishing ...
retained the yellow jersey with just a one-second lead over Kristoff ahead of the evening
individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...
around
Kerteminde
Kerteminde (nickname: ''Min Amandas by'', i.e. ''My Amanda's town''), is a town in central Denmark, located in Kerteminde Municipality on the island of Funen. The town has a population of 6,042 (1 January 2022).
.Resultater fra 4. etape af Post Danmark Rundt 2012 Danmarks Cykle Union, 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
Stage 5
25 August 2012 –
Kerteminde
Kerteminde (nickname: ''Min Amandas by'', i.e. ''My Amanda's town''), is a town in central Denmark, located in Kerteminde Municipality on the island of Funen. The town has a population of 6,042 (1 January 2022).
to Kerteminde,
individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...
(ITT)
Stage five was a 14½km individual time trial around Kerteminde on
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
. The stage was identical to the time trial used in the 2002 and 2008 races.5. etape Post Danmark Rundt 2012, Kerteminde (enkeltstart), 14,5 km Danmarks Cykle Union. Retrieved 2012-08-23. It was won by
Lieuwe Westra
Lieuwe Westra (born 11 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the KrolStonE Continental Team, and teams.
Professional career
Born in Mûnein), Westra finished second at ...
Slagelse
Slagelse () is a town on Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 km ...
to
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
,
Stage six started in Slagelse on
Sjælland
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
and passed through
Sorø
Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).
and
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
Team Sky
Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the National Cycl ...
rider
Mark Cavendish
Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Isle of Man, Manx professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialises in the Madison (cycling), madison, po ...
in a bunch sprint, with
Lieuwe Westra
Lieuwe Westra (born 11 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the KrolStonE Continental Team, and teams.
Professional career
Born in Mûnein), Westra finished second at ...
Lieuwe Westra
Lieuwe Westra (born 11 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the KrolStonE Continental Team, and teams.
Professional career
Born in Mûnein), Westra finished second at ...
Manuele Boaro
Manuele Boaro (born 12 March 1987) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Born in Bassano del Grappa, Boaro competed for U.C. Giorgione Aliseo as a junior, and and as an amateur. Boaro joined pr ...
of
Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
Tinkoff () was a Russian-registered professional cycling team from Russia and previously Denmark. It competed in the UCI World Tour. The team was owned by Russian Oleg Tinkov and, from 1999 until March 2015, was managed by former Tour de France w ...
another four seconds back in third place.Cavendish wins final stage at Tour of Denmark ''Cycling News'', 2012-08-26. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
Team Katusha
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
rider
Alexander Kristoff
Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2007 and 2011. His biggest victories have been the 2014 Milanâ ...
won the points trophy by one point from Lotto-Belisol rider
.
The mountain classification was won by Danish rider Nikola Aistrup of
Team Concordia Forsikring-Himmerland
Riwal Cycling Team was a Danish UCI Continental cycling team based in Himmerland. Riwal participated in races in many countries around Europe. The team's most popular achievements have been the Danmark Rundt, the Olympia's Tour in the Netherlands ...
with Dutch rider
Wilco Kelderman
Wilco Kelderman (born 25 March 1991) is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Professional career
Born in Amersfoort, Kelderman finished in seventh position in the general classification of the 2014 Giro d'Italia ...
Team Sky
Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the National Cycl ...
Danmark Rundt
Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostN ...