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Follow us on GoogleThe Scheldeprijs was won on Wednesday by Tim Merlier. After a finale marred by crashes in the women's race, it was also a case of crashes in the final half hour among the men. As a result, Dylan Groenewegen could not sprint on behalf of Unibet Rose Rockets, but Merlier could. The Belgian from Soudal Quick-Step had a dreadful winter full of injury problems, but struck gold on just his second race day of 2026.
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The Scheldeprijs is often called the 'unofficial World Championship for sprinters' and that was reflected in the start list once again. They were not all there, but with names like Groenewegen, Philipsen, Meeus, Pavel Bittner and the returning Tim Merlier we could still speak of a substantial group of sprinters.
The recipe of the Scheldeprijs is by now well known: from Terneuzen the riders are sent on their way for almost 80 kilometres on Dutch territory, after which the race unfolds further in Belgium. A local circuit in finish town Schoten is by now familiar as the conclusion, after which a sprint usually has to decide things.
That familiar recipe did not stop a group of six riders from taking their place in the early breakaway. Big names or teams were — with all due respect — not among them and so the peloton was content with that. Unibet Rose Rockets, Soudal Quick-Step and Picnic PostNL took the lead in the chase.
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Groenewegen out, who wins Scheldeprijs?
As a result of a strong chase, the lead of the six was controlled at just over two minutes. When they arrived at the cobbles of the Broekstraat for the first time at 64 kilometres from the finish, the gap was still a minute and a half. The finale over a finishing circuit of 17 kilometres created a battle in the breakaway group.
Killy, Dissel and Carpenter remained as the last three, but entering the final lap they had only a minute left. When that had shrunk to half a minute entering the final 10 kilometres, we saw — just as with the women — several big crashes in the peloton. Milan Menten (Lotto-Intermarché), Milan Fretin (Cofidis) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) were all on the ground.
When it became clear who was left behind after two crashes, a line could also be drawn through Groenewegen. He did not appear to have crashed himself, but did have to change bikes.
A considerably thinned-out peloton powered on, caught the early breakaway riders, and thundered towards the final kilometre. There it was not Philipsen and his fairly complete team who scored, but Merlier, who won for the third year in a row. In doing so, the Belgian surprised everyone, this being only his second race day of the year.
Results Scheldeprijs 2026 - elite men
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- - Fair play to Gall—aggressive, grabbed bonuses, and didn’t crack when the hammer dropped. If he limits losses in the next high-alt days, top 5 GC isn’t crazy. Vamos Felix!pedalpowe2925-08-2026
- - Enric looked comfy but Movistar saying they didn’t get the tactics feels a tad rich. If you expected Pogi to lay down a marker, why not put a guy up the road to buffer the move? Missed opportunity there, imho.lindae25-08-2026
- - Can someone explain why teams would chase so hard if Pogacar is lurking? Wouldn’t it be smarter to keep things steady on the first mountain stage?robert6525-08-2026
- - Not sure I buy Romeo’s take that Decathlon “messed up” the race. If your leader’s on good legs, you try to force selections. They just got stung by a monster counter from Tadej—happens to everyone sooner or later.samanthak25-08-2026
- - Huge ride by Pogacar, that surge was vintage him. But got to say, Decathlon CMA CGM looked seriously sharp until the final—Gall holding seventh with bonus seconds is no small thing this early. Mühlberger pacing him to the base was class.jennifer1925-08-2026
- - Jarno Widar, wow. Kid’s 20 and climbing with the big guns. Lotto-Intermarché scouting paying off, mad props. Vamos chaval! Magnifique.robert6525-08-2026
- - Feel a bit harsh on the article saying “expected” for Kuss—he looked a touch under but still limited losses like a proper diesel. Visma pacing was conservative, maybe by design.velodromevirtuoso125-08-2026
- - Quick question: if Carapaz was in polka-dots today, does that mean he was going for KOM or just picked up points incidentally? Not sure how KOM works day-to-day this early.jennifer1925-08-2026
- - Roglič surprising me after that disrupted prep. If he’s already at this level, GC podium is on. Red Bull-BORA look dialed, Tuckwell doing a solid job shepherding.cadencekingm25-08-2026
- - Pogacar on another planet already. UAE-XRG had him parked perfectly before La Rabassa, and he just rode everyone off the wheel. Gall and Onley impressive given the context; Mas quietly good too.andrewf25-08-2026
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