2026 Scheldeprijs (1.Pro)
(Grand Prix de l'Escaut), Belgium
114th edition: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Scheldeprijs podium history | 2025 edition | Map & profile | Start list
Terneuzen - Schoten, 202.7 km
This makes it three years in a row that Tim Merlier has won the Scheldeprijs. Sirotti photo
Content continues below the ads
Les Woodland's book Tour de France: The Inside Story - Making the World's Greatest Bicycle Race is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Weather at the finish city of Schoten at 2:30 PM, local time: 24C (75F), fair, with the wind from the east at 8 km/hr (5 mph). No rain is forecast.
The race: Here's the report from race winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step.
The fastest sprinter in the world is back! In just his second day of racing this season, Tim Merlier powered to a dominant victory in Scheldeprijs, netting Soudal Quick-Step’s fifth success of the year after a crash-marred finale and a hectic bunch sprint.
Having returned to racing from injury less than three weeks ago, Tim entered the 114th edition of Scheldeprijs with the clear ambition of fighting for a good result but still uncertain on how his legs would react after 200 kilometers, but in the end, he made it look incredibly easy. Despite being boxed in inside the final kilometer, the 33-year-old found the space to unleash his phenomenal sprint from the distance and win by several bike lengths.
“It feels really good, especially after the problems I had in the winter. I wasn’t on my best day, and on the final lap there was also that crash which I was lucky to avoid thanks to my cyclo-cross skills. At that moment, I thought there was nothing left anymore in the legs and that the explosion was gone. In the sprint, I got boxed in for a moment but found some space and decided to go, despite being 250 meters from the line.”
“There were a lot of question marks for me before the start, that’s why this victory gives me a lot of confidence for the next races”, added Tim, only the second rider in history to win Scheldeprijs in three consecutive years.
Content continues below the ads
Complete results:
202.7 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.891 km/hr
| 1 | Tim Merlier | Soudal Quick-Step | 4hr 25min 1sec |
| 2 | Pavel Bittner | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 3 | Emilien Jeannière | Team TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 4 | Dusan Rajovic | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | s.t. |
| 5 | Zak Erzen | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 6 | Hugo Hofstetter | NSN Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 7 | David Dekker | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | s.t. |
| 8 | Jasper Philipsen | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 9 | Steffen De Schuyteneer | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 10 | Tom Crabbe | Team Flanders-Baloise | s.t. |
| 11 | Emils Liepins | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 12 | Daniel Cavia | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 13 | Stanislaw Aniolkowski | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 14 | Jordi Meeus | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 15 | Pascal Ackermann | Team Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 16 | Elmar Reinders | Unibet Rose Rockets | s.t. |
| 17 | Robin Froidevaux | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 18 | Hugo Scala Jr | Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 19 | Cesar Macias | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 20 | Max Walscheid | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 21 | Jed Smithson | Team Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 22 | Edoardo Zamperini | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 23 | Joshua Giddings | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 24 | Martijn Rasenberg | Unibet Rose Rockets | s.t. |
| 25 | Leander Van Hautegem | Team Flanders-Baloise | s.t. |
| 26 | Jonah Killy | Tarteletto-Isorex | s.t. |
| 27 | Yukiya Arashiro | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | s.t. |
| 28 | Rodrigo Álvarez | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 29 | Niklas Märkl | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 30 | Christiaan van Rees | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 31 | Matteo Moschetti | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 32 | Jules Hesters | Team Flanders-Baloise | @ 4sec |
| 33 | Matevz Govekar | Bahrain Victorious | 0:08 |
| 34 | Thom van der Werff | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 35 | Rayan Boulahoite | Team TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 36 | Petr Kelemen | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 37 | Sente Sentjens | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 38 | Aivaras Mikutis | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 39 | Jonas Rickaert | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 40 | Rotem Tene | NSN Cycling Team | 0:11 |
| 41 | Brent Van Moer | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 0:14 |
| 42 | Ferre Geeraerts | Team Flanders-Baloise | 0:29 |
| 43 | Edward Theuns | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 44 | Simone Consonni | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 45 | Mick van Dijke | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 0:34 |
| 46 | Alessio Magagnotti | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 47 | Danny van Poppel | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 48 | Jonas Geens | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 49 | Simon Dehairs | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 50 | Fabio Van den Bossche | Soudal Quick-Step | 0:37 |
| 51 | Fabian Lienhard | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 0:39 |
| 52 | Florian Dauphin | Team TotalEnergies | 0:41 |
| 53 | Itamar Einhorn | NSN Cycling Team | 0:44 |
| 54 | Niklas Larsen | Unibet Rose Rockets | 0:48 |
| 55 | Julius van den Berg | Team Picnic PostNL | 0:53 |
| 56 | Pascal Eenkhoorn | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 57 | Sébastien Grignard | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 58 | Laurence Pithie | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 59 | Frederik Frison | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 0:56 |
| 60 | Tommaso Nencini | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | s.t. |
| 61 | Timothy Dupont | Tarteletto-Isorex | 1:00 |
| 62 | Michele Gazzoli | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | 1:03 |
| 63 | Georgios Boúglas | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 64 | Thor Michielsen | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 65 | Kiaan Watts | NSN Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 66 | Casper Pedersen | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 67 | Jambaljamts Sainbayar | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 68 | Robin Carpenter | Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 69 | Héctor Álvarez | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 70 | Tilen Finkst | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | s.t. |
| 71 | Arne Santy | Tarteletto-Isorex | s.t. |
| 72 | Iben Rommelaere | Tarteletto-Isorex | s.t. |
| 73 | Yves Lampaert | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 74 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 75 | Max Kroonen | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | 1:16 |
| 76 | Tim Marsman | Alpecin-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 77 | Artuur Torney | Team Flanders-Baloise | 1:45 |
| 78 | Kamil Malecki | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 79 | Ben Oliver | Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 80 | Shunsuke Imamura | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 81 | Camille Charret | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 82 | Vojtech Kminek | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 83 | Noah Vandenbranden | Team Flanders-Baloise | s.t. |
| 84 | Brem Deman | Team Flanders-Baloise | s.t. |
| 85 | Jens Verbrugghe | NSN Cycling Team | 1:48 |
| 86 | Clement Izquierdo | Cofidis | 1:52 |
| 87 | Dries De Pooter | Team Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 88 | Otto Vergaerde | Lidl-Trek | s.t. |
| 89 | Roel van Sintmaartensdijk | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 90 | Bram Dissel | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | s.t. |
| 91 | Callum Thornley | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:49 |
| 92 | Sebastian Putz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 93 | Fred Wright | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 3:21 |
| 94 | Nickolas Zukowsky | Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 3:23 |
| 95 | Simon Goossens | Alpecin-Premier Tech | 3:32 |
| 96 | Djordje Djuric | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | s.t. |
| 97 | Attilio Viviani | Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | s.t. |
| 98 | Dillon Corkery | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 99 | Robbe Dhondt | Team Picnic PostNL | s.t. |
| 100 | Milan Menten | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 101 | Lionel Taminiaux | Lotto-Intermarché | s.t. |
| 102 | Scott McGill | Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | 3:40 |
| 103 | Joost Nat | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | 3:55 |
| 104 | Floris Van Tricht | NSN Cycling Team | 4:00 |
| 105 | Oded Kogut | NSN Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 106 | Jelle Harteel | Tarteletto-Isorex | 4:15 |
| 107 | Jelle Vermoote | Tarteletto-Isorex | s.t. |
| 108 | Nicola Marcerou | Team TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 109 | Pierre Thierry | Team TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 110 | Samuel Leroux | Team TotalEnergies | s.t. |
| 111 | Sean Christian | Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 112 | Riley Pickrell | Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 113 | Marius Mayrhofer | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 114 | Cériel Desal | Soudal Quick-Step | s.t. |
| 115 | Tomoya Koyama | Burgos Burpellet BH | 4:19 |
| 116 | Robert Donaldson | Team Jayco-AlUla | 5:17 |
| 117 | Seppe Van Den Boer | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 5:20 |
| 118 | Milan Fretin | Cofidis | 6:08 |
| 119 | Hamish McKenzie | Team Jayco-AlUla | 6:17 |
| 120 | Kelland O'Brien | Team Jayco-AlUla | s.t. |
| 121 | Abram Stockman | Unibet Rose Rockets | s.t. |
| 122 | Dylan Groenewegen | Unibet Rose Rockets | s.t. |
| 123 | Karsten Feldmann | Unibet Rose Rockets | s.t. |
| 124 | Tijmen Eising | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | s.t. |
| 125 | Michiel Coppens | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | s.t. |
| 126 | Torn Teutenberg Tim | Lidl-Trek | 7:22 |
| 127 | Sebastian Kolze Changizi | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 128 | Phil Bauhaus | Bahrain Victorious | 7:49 |
| 129 | Vlad Van Mechelen | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
| 130 | Daan van Sintmaartensdijk | BEAT CC p/b Saxo | s.t. |
Course map & profile:
2026 Scheldeprijs map
2026 Scheldeprijs profile
Content continues below the ads
Start list with back numbers, April 7, 2026:
| Soudal Quick-Step | |
| 1 | Tim Merlier |
| 2 | Cériel Desal |
| 3 | Pascal Eenkhoorn |
| 4 | Yves Lampaert |
| 5 | Casper Pedersen |
| 6 | Fabio Van den Bossche |
| 7 | Bert Van Lerberghe |
| Alpecin-Premier Tech | |
| 11 | Jasper Philipsen |
| 12 | Simon Dehairs |
| 13 | Jonas Geens |
| 14 | Simon Goossens |
| 15 | Tim Marsman |
| 16 | Jonas Rickaert |
| 17 | Sente Sentjens |
| Lotto-Intermarché | |
| 21 | Steffen De Schuyteneer |
| 22 | Milan Menten |
| 23 | Joshua Giddings |
| 24 | Sébastien Grignard |
| 25 | Shunsuke Imamura |
| 26 | Lionel Taminiaux |
| 27 | Roel van Sintmaartensdijk |
| Bahrain Victorious | |
| 31 | Phil Bauhaus |
| 32 | Leonardo Consolidani |
| 33 | Zak Erzen |
| 34 | Matevz Govekar |
| 35 | Daniel Skerl |
| 36 | Vlad Van Mechelen |
| Lidl-Trek | |
| 41 | Edward Theuns |
| 42 | Héctor Álvarez |
| 43 | Simone Consonni |
| 44 | Thor Michielsen |
| 45 | Torn Teutenberg Tim |
| 46 | Otto Vergaerde |
| 47 | Max Walscheid |
| NSN Cycling Team | |
| 51 | Hugo Hofstetter |
| 52 | Itamar Einhorn |
| 53 | Oded Kogut |
| 54 | Rotem Tene |
| 55 | Floris Van Tricht |
| 56 | Jens Verbrugghe |
| 57 | Kiaan Watts |
| Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | |
| 61 | Jordi Meeus |
| 62 | Alessio Magagnotti |
| 63 | Mick van Dijke |
| 64 | Laurence Pithie |
| 65 | Sebastian Putz |
| 66 | Callum Thornley |
| 67 | Danny van Poppel |
| Team Jayco-AlUla | |
| 71 | Pascal Ackermann |
| 72 | Dries De Pooter |
| 73 | Robert Donaldson |
| 74 | Hamish McKenzie |
| 75 | Luka Mezgec |
| 76 | Kelland O'Brien |
| 77 | Jed Smithson |
| Team Picnic PostNL | |
| 81 | Robbe Dhondt |
| 82 | Pavel Bittner |
| 83 | Dillon Corkery |
| 84 | Niklas Märkl |
| 85 | Julius van den Berg |
| 86 | Thom van der Werff |
| 87 | Christiaan van Rees |
| Burgos Burpellet BH | |
| 91 | Rodrigo Álvarez |
| 92 | Georgios Boúglas |
| 93 | Daniel Cavia |
| 94 | Vojtech Kminek |
| 95 | Tomoya Koyama |
| 96 | Cesar Macias |
| 97 | Jambaljamts Sainbayar |
| Cofidis | |
| 101 | Milan Fretin |
| 103 | Stanislaw Aniolkowski |
| 104 | Camille Charret |
| 105 | Clement Izquierdo |
| 107 | Edoardo Zamperini |
| Modern Adventure Pro Cycling | |
| 111 | Robin Carpenter |
| 112 | Sean Christian |
| 113 | Brody McDonald |
| 114 | Scott McGill |
| 115 | Ben Oliver |
| 116 | Riley Pickrell |
| 117 | Hugo Scala Jr |
| Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | |
| 121 | Matteo Moschetti |
| 122 | Frederik Frison |
| 123 | Emils Liepins |
| 124 | Kamil Malecki |
| 125 | Brent Van Moer |
| 126 | Fred Wright |
| 127 | Nickolas Zukowsky |
| Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali | |
| 131 | Attilio Viviani |
| 132 | Yukiya Arashiro |
| 133 | Djordje Djuric |
| 134 | Tilen Finkst |
| 135 | Michele Gazzoli |
| 136 | Tommaso Nencini |
| 137 | Dusan Rajovic |
| Team Flanders-Baloise | |
| 141 | Tom Crabbe |
| 142 | Brem Deman |
| 143 | Ferre Geeraerts |
| 144 | Jules Hesters |
| 145 | Artuur Torney |
| 146 | Leander Van Hautegem |
| 147 | Noah Vandenbranden |
| Team TotalEnergies | |
| 151 | Emilien Jeannière |
| 152 | Rayan Boulahoite |
| 153 | Florian Dauphin |
| 154 | Samuel Leroux |
| 155 | Nicola Marcerou |
| 156 | Pierre Thierry |
| Tudor Pro Cycling Team | |
| 161 | Petr Kelemen |
| 162 | Robin Froidevaux |
| 163 | Sebastian Kolze Changizi |
| 164 | Fabian Lienhard |
| 165 | Marius Mayrhofer |
| 166 | Aivaras Mikutis |
| 167 | Seppe Van Den Boer |
| Unibet Rose Rockets | |
| 171 | Dylan Groenewegen |
| 172 | Karsten Feldmann |
| 173 | Niklas Larsen |
| 174 | Wessel Mouris |
| 175 | Martijn Rasenberg |
| 176 | Elmar Reinders |
| 177 | Abram Stockman |
| BEAT CC p/b Saxo | |
| 181 | Michiel Coppens |
| 182 | David Dekker |
| 183 | Bram Dissel |
| 184 | Tijmen Eising |
| 185 | Max Kroonen |
| 186 | Joost Nat |
| 187 | Daan van Sintmaartensdijk |
| Tarteletto-Isorex | |
| 191 | Timothy Dupont |
| 192 | Jelle Harteel |
| 193 | Zeno Moonen |
| 194 | Jonah Killy |
| 195 | Iben Rommelaere |
| 196 | Arne Santy |
| 197 | Jelle Vermoote |