Merlier and Kool sprint to Scheldeprijs titles

The sprinters were out in force for both the men's and women's events at Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, and the race did not disappoint them, with bunch kicks deciding both finales.

As is so often the case in the mid-week one-day race near Antwerp, crashes played a role in determining the outcome. On the women's side, multiple pileups impacted the bunch in the last several kilometers. Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) stayed upright and took the win over Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).

In the men's race, a crash inside the final 10 km forced a big split, leaving a smaller group to contest the finish. Defending champion Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick-Step) was in that selection, and he delivered on his favorite status to take a third straight victory, with Pavel Bittner (Picnic-PostNL) in second and Emilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) in third.

[race_result id=14856 stage_id=0 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]

[race_result id=56 stage_id=0 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]