Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) continued to establish himself as the fastest sprinter in the pro peloton in 2025, handily out-sprinting Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to win the Scheldeprijs for the second year in a row. Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) finished third.
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.
Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) out-sprinted Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceunick) to win the 2024 edition in Schoten.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Spring Classics coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from all the Cobbled Classics from Opening Weekend to Paris-Roubaix. Find out more
Scheldeprijs route
Image 1 of 2
Profile of the 2025 Scheldeprijs(Image credit: Flanders Classics)
Map of the 2025 Scheldeprijs(Image credit: Flanders Classics)
The route for the 2025 Scheldeprijs remains largely the same as in previous years.
Scheldeprijs is a pan-flat course at 202.8km in length. It features four laps of a closing circuit around Schoten, also flat, with each lap including the short pavè sector named Broekstraat.
Scheldeprijs contenders
Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep)
Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) is a prime contender to win Scheldeprijs in 2025, having the most victories of any WorldTour rider so far this season with six - two stages each in the AlUla Tour, UAE Tour and Paris-Nice, along with second place in Gent-Wevelgem behind solo winner Mads Pedersen.
His main rivals will be Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), winner of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), former winner Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X), Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and perhaps Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5), winner of two stages of the recent Tour of Hellas.
