Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) will clash with some of their biggest sprint rivals at Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, including 2021 winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The Belgian got a surprise boost when Mathieu van der Poel became a late entry, with the target of delivering Philipsen to victory in the Scheldeprijs just as he did during Tirreno-Adriatico.
The three former winners will go up against 2022 winner Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X), Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), Sam Welsford (Team DSM), Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5) and others in what is often called the unofficial sprinter's World Championships.
Scheldeprijs is not part of the WorldTour, and so not all WorldTour teams are riding this year, with Jumbo-Visma among the absent.
Cavendish won Scheldeprijs in 2007, 2008 and 2011 and was third as recently as 2021. He enjoyed a renaissance with Quickstep in the past two years – winning the Tour de France green jersey and four stages in 2021. He has yet to find success since moving to Astana Qazaqstan this year, with his best result a third place on a wind-swept first stage of the UAE Tour in January.
Ewan is another rider with a point to prove. The Australian won Scheldeprijs in 2020 but has only won the Tour Down Under criterium this season. He has been somewhat overshadowed by teammate Arnaud De Lie but Lotto-Dstny are saving their young talent for Paris-Roubaix. That leaves Ewan to target a confidence-boosting victory in Schoten, where he will have the support of Jasper De Buyst, Jarrad Drizners, Liam Slock and Jacopo Guarnieri.
"It seems that the wind will play less of a role, so that works in our favour," sports director Allan Davis predicted. "We are aiming for a sprint with Caleb Ewan, who can show his fast legs."
"We want to keep the momentum of the Classics and build on the success of the past few weeks. The Classics are going well and we want to continue that positive trend."
Strong winds transformed last year's Scheldeprijs from a sprinter's classic into an echelon battle. On the exposed roads of Zeeland close to the North Sea, 17 riders got away and stayed away. Kristoff attacked in the final kilometres and soloed to victory. Since then, Kristoff has moved from Intermarché to Uno-X but remains a contender after he took a stage win in the Volta ao Algarve and narrowly missed the podium in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
The weather should be less of a factor on Wednesday it is more likely Scheldeprijs will come down to a sprint finish.
"There will be a northeasterly wind, but very little," predicts Flemish weatherman Bram Verbruggen.
"In the course of the afternoon, it even becomes variable. The wind will therefore play no role in the Scheldeprijs. The other weather elements shouldn't be either. It should remain dry and the sun."
