Cycling
No hat trick for Jasper Philipsen, but a first victory for Tim Merlier in the Scheldeprijs. Soudal Quick-Step’s sprint bomb started early and Philipsen, who got trapped at a crucial moment, had no answer to that. Dylan Groenewegen came third.
Hugo Coorevits, Maarten Vanhoof
Yesterday at 5:32 PM
The Scheldeprijs means waiting four hours for the inevitable mass sprint. This year too, the peloton did not deviate from that scenario in the oldest Flemish classic. The first hours of competition were hectic, with many fans and falls. Main victim: Gerben Thijssen, who also mowed down Intermarché-Wanty teammate Arne Marit in his fall. Both riders were evacuated.
It never became a real fan spectacle. Because the wind did not reach the expected speed of fifty kilometers per hour, as they had hoped in Zeeland, it stopped again after an hour of dragging. Five escapees tried against their better judgment to avoid the sprint, but Bora-Hansgrohe, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal-Quick Step kept everything under control.
Lotto-Dstny youngster Liam Slock was the last escapee, but his song was over on the cobblestones of the Broekstraat eight kilometers from the finish. Then it was up to the sprinter teams.
Tim Merlier, who had to make a bike change in the final, was brought into perfect position just in time by his blood friend Bert Van Lerberghe. Just like in Nokere Koerse, Merlier started the sprint from afar and rode to victory unthreatened. At the finish he was two bikes ahead of Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Philipsen, who got boxed in by Groenewegen and Hofstetter and was able to break free too late.
It is already his seventh victory of the season for the 31-year-old Merlier. A welcome victory also for Soudal Quick-Step, which is having a disappointing spring.
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Four in a row for Wiebes
There was also no escape from a bunch sprint for the women. The favorite role was reserved for Lorena Wiebes, who had already won the past three editions, and Elisa Balsamo. Refugees Anneke Dijkstra and Wilma Aintila animated the final, but they were caught just before the red rag.
In the announced bunch sprint, Balsamo started from afar, but in the end there was no limit for 25-year-old Wiebes, who quickly left the entire pack behind him. Charlotte Kool and Martina Fidanza filled the stage. Marthe Truyen was the best Belgian sixth. For Wiebes, good for four in a row in Schoten, it is her sixth victory this season.
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