Across Europe, cycling is being promoted as a key solution to cleaner, healthier travel. The European Commission recently published its first progress report on the European Declaration on Cycling, highlighting billions of euros in investment, thousands of kilometres of new or upgraded cycle infrastructure, and growing political commitment to treating cycling as a regular mode of transport.

But there is a growing disconnect between this ambition and people’s everyday behaviour. Even as policy momentum increases, the number of people cycling to work or to school, college or university is not rising everywhere. And where I live in Denmark – considered a leading cycling nation – it’s quietly declining.

In our national survey from 2020, 27.6% of the population reported cycling to work or education at least three days a week. But in our recent 2025 survey, that figure has fallen to 25.6%.

Health Gap / Sundhedskløften is a collaborative series from The Conversation UK and Denmark’s Videnskab.dk exploring what the two countries can learn from each other when it comes to health and wellbeing.

From cycling and alcohol to inequality, healthcare and everyday habits, the series looks beyond hospitals and medical treatment to explore how culture, politics and society shape the way people live – and how healthy they are.

Our 2020 data was collected in October and November, this was a period when COVID restrictions were minimal in Denmark, but where working at home was being encouraged. This likely........

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