April 8, 2026
There are a number of races on the calendar that claim to be the sprint "World Championship" but few have such authority as Scheldeprijs. Through the years, the biggest names in sprinting have won and it's a race that ever sprinter could retire happy, with it on their palmares. It isn't all plain sailing however because the wind usually blows the race apart after they set out from Terneuzen in the Netherlands, one of the world's most consistently windy places. The riders will cross over into Belgium after 77 km of the 205 km course and will enter the finish circuit with 60 km remaining for three and a half laps of a 17 km circuit. On each lap is the cobbled Broekstraat but it usually doesn't have much influence on the race. The final twists a bit with the last corner coming 2 km before the line. With 200 meters to go, there is a slight chicane that can be taken straight on if positioned correctly which offers a great benefit over those that have to let off the gas if pinched on the barriers.
Highlighted Riders:
Tim Merlier, Jasper Philipsen, Phil Bauhaus, Milan Menten, Oded Kogut, Jordi Meeus, Pascal Ackermann, Pavel Bittner, Milan Fretin, Matteo Moschetti, Tom Crabbe, Emilien Jeannière, Dylan Groenewegen
Race Summary
The 114th edition of Scheldeprijs got underway as the weather in Northern Europe continued to provide beautifully warm days. The wind couldn't have been more calm and it was six riders that got together to form the early break of the day. The group included Robin Carpenter of Modern Adventure, Đorđe Đurić of Solution Tech NIPPO Rali, Bram Dissel and Joost Nat of BEAT Saxo, and Jelle Harteel and Jonah Killy of Tarteletto-Isorex. They had a maximum advantage of 2 minutes 30 seconds and with 79 km remaining, the gap was still 2 minutes 10 seconds with Soudal Quickstep, Picnic-PostNL, and Unibet Rose Rockets present at the front of the bunch.
When the peloton reached the entrance to the circuit, other teams had moved to the front, primarily Jayco AlUla and Alpecin-Premier Tech. The gap was down to 50 seconds as they passed under the finish gantry with 51 km and three laps remaining. Tension increased on the Broekstraat coming around for 2 laps to go and the gap was cut to 35 seconds. Some members of the break grew impatient and the group split with 36 km to go as Killy, Carpenter, and Dissel went clear. Dissel led the leading trio through 2 laps remaining with an increased advantage of 45 seconds. The peloton came through wide across the road and looking quite relaxed but ready to pounce when it suited them.
The first action came on the next passage of the Broekstraat with Pinarello Q36.5 hitting the cobbles like the finish was in sight. Unfortunately for them, their sprinter, Matteo Moschetti, had a mechanical a few moments later and was forced to stop for a bike change. The bunch settled back down until 23 km to go when positioning started for the final corner coming into the bell lap. Unibet Rose Rockets led through the corner and they were joined by Soudal Quickstep, Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Jayco AlUla. By the time they reached the bell for the final lap, the bunch were still 25 seconds behind the three remaining leaders.
Bahrain Victorious arrived at the front for the first time with 14 km remaining but the peloton was a swirl of riders as everyone tried to organize in team order. The gap was still 30 seconds at 10 km to go because it was still too early to spend riders in the chase that were meant for the lead out. The bunch finally got busy 1 km later and it wasn't long before there was a touch of wheels and riders went down. The crash happened in the first 40 positions and the main favorites caught up were Milan Fretin of Cofidis and Milan Menten of Lotto Intermarché. Just moments later, another crash took down at least 15 riders including Dylan Groenewegen of Unibet Rose Rockets and Phil Bauhaus of Bahrain Victorious, both of which were out of contention. The bunch was in disarray after the crash spree but TotalEnergies picked up the reigns to continue the chase.
Carpenter was distanced from the break on the final passage of the Broekstraat but Killy and Dissel remained ahead by 15 seconds as they turned onto the main road parallel with the Schedlt. When cameras set their eyes on the peloton, we could see that Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech, Tim Merlier of Soudal Quickstep, and Jordi Meeus of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe had made it through the crashes and were present near the front of the bunch. Killy and Dissel were caught at 4 km to go by a peloton that numbered no more than 50 riders.
From 3 to 2 km to go, everyone wanted to be near the front but not on the front. There was a lot of looking around until 1,400 meters to go when Alpecin-Premier Tech finally put their lead out into action. Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe came over the top but Meeus decided to tuck in around sixth wheel behind Pavel Bittner of Picnic-PostNL. Max Walscheid of Lidl-Trek moved to the front with 400 meters to go which allowed Philipsen to get a good sit but Walscheid was a better door than window and blocked Philipsen when the rush came from behind at 175 meters. It was Merlier that opened the sprint first when he saw the gap. The Belgian had been sidelined all season with a knee injury but when he kicked, it was vintage Merlier. The gap opened and Merlier crossed the line for the win, his third Scheldeprijs title, with a full bike length between he and Bittner in second. Emilien Jeannière of TotalEnergies went across the line for third with Philipsen finishing eighth, never having the opportunity to fully sprint.