Copenhagen Sprint has been awarded the UCI’s International Sustainability Award at the UCI Cycling for All & Sustainability Awards in Athens.
The award recognizes our work to develop and host an international cycling race with a focus on responsible and more sustainable solutions – already from the first year of the event.
Head of Event Delivery, Freja Fischer-Møller, received the award on behalf of Copenhagen Sprint.
Holding an international cycling race with a significantly reduced climate footprint is not easy. But we believe that cycling can help show the way – both as a sport, a mode of transport and a community. That is why we are working hard to make Copenhagen Sprint as sustainable as possible, says Freja Fischer-Møller.
The Jury’s Statement
UCI shared the following words about Copenhagen Sprint:
The Copenhagen Sprint, an event on the calendars of both the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour, is designed as a scalable model for climate‑responsible event delivery. From its very first edition in 2025, sustainability was embedded across all operations, with results serving as a documented baseline for future improvement.
Key results included the use of 23,750 pieces of reusable tableware – with a high return rate -, a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 1,111 kg, and a reduction in waste of 71kg. More than 8,000 public transport event tickets were sold, supported by climate‑conscious mobility planning.Blandt de vigtigste resultater var anvendelsen af 23.750 stykker genanvendeligt service med en høj returprocent, en reduktion af CO₂-udledning på 1.111 kg samt en reduktion af affaldsmængden på 71 kg. Mere end 8.000 eventbilletter til offentlig transport blev solgt som led i en klimabevidst mobilitetsindsats.
Sustainable procurement principles were applied throughout the event, including the production of date‑neutral materials to allow for reuse.Derudover blev bæredygtige indkøbsprincipper anvendt gennem hele eventet, herunder produktion af datoneutrale materialer med henblik på genbrug.
Building on these results, the Copenhagen Sprint aims to host an annual international cycling event in Copenhagen that will strengthen its legacy, celebrate cycling culture, and continually reduce its environmental impact. På baggrund af disse resultater arbejder Copenhagen Sprint videre mod at etablere et årligt internationalt cykelløb i København, der skal styrke eventets arv, fejre cykelkulturen og løbende reducere dets miljømæssige påvirkning.
Focus on concrete initiatives
In 2025, Copenhagen Sprint launched its first sustainability strategy with specific focus areas and goals for transport, waste, energy, procurement, food and drink, and communication, among other things.
Among the initiatives are:
- 100% electric race cars
- Waste sorting and increased recycling
- Phasing out diesel generators
- More climate-friendly food and drink solutions
- Upcycling of clothing for crew and volunteers
- Focus on green transport for the public, volunteers and teams
Copenhagen Sprint works simultaneously with evaluation and CO2 calculations to continuously improve the event’s climate footprint and share experiences with other organizers and partners.
A recognition of joint efforts
The award is also a recognition of the broad collaboration with partners, municipalities, suppliers, volunteers and teams.
We are still new, and we are far from perfect. But we learn and improve year by year. It requires collaboration and knowledge sharing with other actors if we are to create more sustainable events in the future, says Freja Fischer-Møller.
For Copenhagen Sprint 2026, we build on the experience for 2025.