Scheldeprijs 2026 | Sprinters’ world championship, or rather a Belgium-Netherlands duel between Groenewegen, Merlier and Philipsen?

Anyone glancing at the Scheldeprijs roll of honour can only come to one conclusion: this is a race made for the fast men. Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish and Fabio Jakobsen all feature prominently among the winners, which tells you plenty about the profile of the event. It is usually the riders with the very highest top speed who make the difference here.

The last three editions have gone to the two fastest Belgians of the moment: Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier. Both men are back again in 2026 to take another shot at the race, although they — like the rest of the peloton — will also be keen to avoid any bad luck with Paris-Roubaix coming up on Sunday.

2025 Tim Merlier
2024 Tim Merlier
2023 Jasper Philipsen
2022 Alexander Kristoff
2021 Jasper Philipsen
2020 Caleb Ewan
2019 Fabio Jakobsen
2018 Fabio Jakobsen
2017 Marcel Kittel
2016 Marcel Kittel

If you are looking for climbing, Scheldeprijs is not the place to find it: this race is as flat as they come. There is, however, another factor that can often shape the outcome: the wind. That is why it is always worth keeping a close eye on the forecast ahead of this race.

The expectations for 2026 do not suggest the wind will cause real mayhem. In the opening phase, from the start in the Dutch town of Terneuzen, it is not blowing badly for the riders, but not strongly enough to tear the race apart straight away. After that, the easterly wind is largely a headwind, which usually helps chasing groups return more easily.

From there, the race heads into Belgium, and after roughly 140 kilometres the riders reach the local 17-kilometre circuit for the first time. On that finishing loop, a few things can still be put right, which should work in favour of the fast men who survive all the way to Schoten.

The circuit must be completed four times. There is also a cobbled section, though one that generally does not make a decisive selection. In the nervousness of the finale, the main concern is that everybody stays upright on the run-in toward the centre of Schoten.

Weather
The weather conditions look perfectly acceptable from a sprinter’s point of view. Temperatures are expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius, with a moderate easterly wind. As mentioned, that should mainly mean a headwind in the opening section from the Netherlands into Belgium.

Times
Start: 1 PM local time
Finish: Around 5:15 PM local time

For years, Scheldeprijs was known as the sprinters’ world championship, but is that still really the case? In Belgium and the Netherlands, perhaps yes. Beyond that, it has become noticeable that more and more WorldTour teams either leave the race alone altogether or do not send their very top sprinters to Terneuzen.

With Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech and Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step, the best Flemish sprinters of recent years are once again at the start. That applies both in general terms and when you look specifically at the recent Scheldeprijs results. Philipsen, notably, has tailored his spring around races such as Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix, skipping the Tour of Flanders.

The rider from Ham skipped the Tour of Flanders after his victory in In Flanders Fields, because his focus shifted to Scheldeprijs and Roubaix. Merlier, meanwhile, had so far only ridden GP Monseré after a knee injury kept him out for a while, though IDL Pro Cycling reported in late February and March that he was working his way back after several difficult weeks.

of Unibet Rose Rockets. The top sprinter has won his last three races in Belgium for his new team and looks reborn in the sprints. Groenewegen also delivered Unibet Rose Rockets’ first WorldTour victory at the Tour of Bruges on March 25, 2026, underlining the form he is bringing into this race. The big question now is whether he can cash in again in Schoten.

Also on the start list is Jordi Meeus of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, who follows a similar path to Philipsen and may have the strongest lead-out at his disposal with Danny van Poppel and the Van Dijke brothers around him. The Limburg rider had bad luck in In Flanders Fields, but he has been riding strongly all season and already took victory in Le Samyn this year.

Beyond those names, there is the experience of riders such as Phil Bauhaus of Bahrain Victorious, where Zak Erzen is also available, Pascal Ackermann of Jayco AlUla, Matteo Moschetti of Q36.5–Pinarello, and NSN trio Oded Kogut, Hugo Hofstetter and Itamar Einhorn.

There is also plenty of young firepower on the start list, including Steffen De Schuyteneer of Lotto-Intermarché, Tim Torn Teutenberg of Lidl-Trek, who is joined by Edward Theuns, Pavel Bittner of Picnic PostNL, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Milan Fretin of Cofidis, Tom Crabbe of Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise and Emilien Jeanniere of TotalEnergies.

Top favorites: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets)
Outsiders: Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)

The Scheldeprijs will be televised live Wednesday by Sporza and Eurosport. The Belgians will be there from 3:40 p.m. on VRT 1, while Eurosport will be there online from the same time. On the main channel, it opts for the Tour of the Basque Country.