Dominating the competition! Merlier beats Philipsen in Scheldeprijs and sprints to seventh win of the season

Tim Merlier claimed victory in the Scheldeprijs on Wednesday afternoon. Dubbed the “unofficial World Championship for sprinters,” the race indeed came down to a sprint, where the Belgian rider from Soudal Quick-Step proved to be the fastest after a chaotic finale marred by a crash. Jasper Philipsen finished second, and Matteo Moschetti took third.

The riders rolled out from Terneuzen just after 1 p.m. for a little over 200 kilometers toward Schoten, Belgium, where the men had to complete four local laps as the finale. It was the same circuit used in the women’s race earlier that day, where Elisa Balsamo narrowly outsprinted Dutch rider Charlotte Kool to take the win.

An eight-man breakaway formed early in the men's race and was quickly given some leeway by the peloton. The group included five Belgians, one Frenchman, and two Dutchmen: Bram Dissel and Lars Loohuis, both riding for BEAT Cycling Club. Their lead initially grew rapidly but was eventually capped at around three minutes by the peloton.

It was - how could it be otherwise - the wind in Zeeland that caused chaos. The peloton stretched into a long line and then split into multiple groups. A hectic echelon phase followed, during which the breakaway’s advantage was quickly cut down. Eventually, the race came back together, leaving just four riders up front: Baptiste Veistroffer, Tuur Dens, Ceriel Desal, and Tijmen Eising. They held a one-minute lead over a peloton that had already shed several riders.

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Crash in the final phase sparks chaotic finish

The one-minute lead held steady for quite a while. In the peloton, the sprint teams moved up frequently, with Lidl-Trek and Soudal Quick-Step taking on much of the chase work. Still, the breakaway quartet was working well together, allowing them to stay ahead for a long time. That wasn’t the case for Tuur Dens, who was caught by the peloton with 36 kilometers to go. At 22 kilometers from the finish, it was also over for Tijmen Eising. The Dutchman left Veistroffer and Desal up front as a duo, while the peloton had closed the gap to just 25 seconds.

With 17 kilometers to go, Veistroffer also dropped back. Desal made one final all-out effort, hoping to earn the prize for most combative rider of the day, as the Belgian refused to give in. But with 11 kilometers left, his story seemed to come to an end too—just as a major crash erupted in the peloton.

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Reduced peloton sprints for victory in Schoten

A Soudal Quick-Step rider looked behind and crashed, bringing down many others with him, including Sam Welsford and Jelte Krijnsen. Merlier avoided the chaos but saw several of his teammates hit the ground, leaving the European champion with little support in the finale.

Desal was soon caught by the riders who had stayed upright, setting the stage for a sprint finish. The remaining riders entered the final 5 kilometers with a heavily reduced peloton, while behind them, many tried to bridge back. But the gap was too big, so the winner would come from the front group of about fifty riders.

The Lidl-Trek squad had the best lead-out train. Merlier positioned himself on Philipsen’s wheel. Danny van Poppel launched the sprint first, but Merlier was by far the fastest. The Belgian stormed past his rivals with overwhelming power. Philipsen followed in second place, behind the European champion.

Results Scheldt Prize 2025

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