Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) made it two in a row in the Scheldeprijs, out-sprinting a poorly-positioned Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceunick) in a bunch sprint to win the 2024 edition in Schoten. The victory was Merlier's seventh of the season and the second of the Classics season, saving Soudal-Quickstep's campaign.
Information
Scheldeprijs is a 1.Pro race – the next classification below the WorldTour level – nestled among the cobbled Classics of the spring. Held midweek between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – this year on April 3, it's a race predominantly suited to the sprinters, with Classics men also featuring.
It's the oldest road race in Flanders, started in 1907 with a start and finish in Antwerp. The race did not leave the borders of the Netherlands until a route change in 2018, which included roads in Belgium.
Since 2005, sprinters have dominated each edition of the race, with Marcel Kittel winning five times and two wins apiece going to Alexander Kristoff, Fabio Jakobsen, and Jasper Philipsen.
Since 2018, however, the inclusion of start towns to the west into the Netherlands' windswept Zeeland province has made for a somewhat more selective affair, depending on the weather.
Belgian Alpecin-Deceuninck star Philipsen triumphed last spring, beating Sam Welsford and Mark Cavendish to the line in Schoten to grab his fourth win of a season which would see him rack up 19 victories including four at the Tour de France.
Join Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2024 Scheldeprijs with race reports, results, photo galleries, news and race analysis.
Scheldeprijs route
The route for the 2024 Scheldeprijs remains largely the same as in previous years.
Scheldeprijs is a pan-flat course at 205.4km in length. It features four laps of a closing circuit around Schoten, also flat, with each lap including the short pavè sector named Broekstraat.
Jasper Philipsen topped the podium in 2023 (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Reigning champion Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has established himself as the top sprinter of the peloton and will no doubt want to make it a third victory on his palmarès at the unofficial sprinter's World Championships.
Plenty of the world's fastest men line up at the race, though several top sprinters are missing from the lineup this year. Among the top contenders set to do battle with Philipsen are Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty), and Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor).
Look out, too, for Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic), Casper van Uden (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates), Cees Bol (Astana Qazaqstan), Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek), Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), and Hugo Hofstetter (Israel-Premier Tech).
Scheldeprijs schedule
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Date
Stage
Start time
Finish time
April 4
Terneuzen - Schoten
13:00
17:15
Scheldeprijs teams
11 WorldTour teams will be lining up at the 2024 Scheldeprijs, including Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal-QuickStep, Lidl-Trek, Bora-Hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates, and Jayco-AlUla.
Nine ProTeams including Lotto-Dstny, Uno-X Mobility and Israel-Premier Tech complete the lineup alongside two Continental level teams.
![Jumbo-Visma team's Belgian rider Wout Van Aert (R) and Alpecin-Deceuninck team's Dutch rider Mathieu Van Der Poel (C) cycle with a pack of riders over the Trouee d'Arenberg cobblestone sector during the 120th edition of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic cycling race, between Compiegne and Roubaix, northern France, on April 9, 2023. (Photo by François LO PRESTI / AFP) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: BYLINE [Francois Lo Presti] instead of [Anne-Christine Poujoulat]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require." (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP via Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6WXaWRPfnpp8A5rR5qffaR-840-80.jpg.webp)
