The GP Viborg was a professional one-day cycling race held annually in Denmark from 2013 to 2017. Initially named ''Destination Thy'' (2013–2014), it was rebranded in 2015 to reflect its shift to Viborg as the primary host city. Classified as a 1.2 event on the

UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and ove ...

, it served as a springboard for Scandinavian and European continental teams.

History

Origins (2013–2014)

The race debuted in 2013 as ''Destination Thy'', starting in

Thisted Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,505 (1 January 2025)Hanstholm Hanstholm is a small town and a former island, now elevated area in Thisted municipality of Region Nordjylland, located in northern Denmark. The population of the town is 2,085 (1 January 2024).

, covering 198 km through

Thy National Park Thy National Park () is a national park area in Thy, Denmark, opened to the public on 22 August 2008. It is located in Northwest Jutland, along the coast from Hanstholm to Agger Tange and it spans north to south and east to west. The total are ...

. Spanish rider

Constantino Zaballa Constantino Zaballa Gutiérrez (born 15 May 1978 in La Hayuela, Cantabria, Spain) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning Clásica de San Sebastián in 2005. Towards the end of his career, Zaballa ventured i ...

won the inaugural edition in a sprint finish. The 2014 edition, won by

Magnus Cort Nielsen Magnus Cort Nielsen (born 16 January 1993) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Orica–GreenEDGE (2015–17) In June 2014, World Tour team signed Cort for three years, starting from the 2 ...

, saw increased participation from Danish Continental teams.

Rebranding and Growth (2015–2017)

In 2015, the race relocated to Viborg and was renamed ''GP Viborg''. Norwegian rider Oscar Landa secured a solo victory after a late breakaway. The 2016 edition featured Johim Ariesen ( Metec–TKH) outsprinting a reduced peloton. The final edition in 2017 was notable for featuring future

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

winner

Jonas Vingegaard Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (; ; born 10 December 1996) is a Danish professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Described as one of the best Climbing specialist, climbers of his generation, his rivalry with Tad ...

(then racing for Team ColoQuick–Cult) in second place, behind

Kasper Asgreen Kasper Asgreen (born 8 February 1995) is a Danish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Asgreen won the 2021 Tour of Flanders (men's race), 2021 Tour of Flanders by defeating Mathieu van der Poel in a sprint finish. Early life Asgreen ...

Route and Format

The race typically spanned 190–200 km, with flat to rolling terrain suited for sprinters and breakaway specialists. Key segments included: * 2013–2014: Coastal roads of Thy, finishing with a technical circuit in Hanstholm. * 2015–2017: Loops around Viborg, featuring the short but steep **Hald Hill** (max gradient 12%).

Winners

Discontinuation

The race was discontinued after 2017 due to funding shortages and competition from larger events like the

Tour of Denmark Danmark Rundt is a Danish multi-day professional road cycling race. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as PostNord Danmark Rundt. The race is sometimes called the Tour ...

Legacy

Kasper Asgreen (2017 winner) later won

Ronde van Vlaanderen The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organized by Flanders Classics. ...

(2021). Jonas Vingegaard (2017 runner-up) became a two-time

champion (2022, 2023).

External Links

UCI Official Website

Danish Cycling Federation

References

Cycle races in Denmark Defunct cycling races UCI Europe Tour races Viborg Municipality 2013 establishments in Denmark Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2017 {{Cycling-race-stub