After suffering a stinging defeat at the Tour of Flanders at the hands of Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel has decided to add the mid-week Scheldeprijs (Wednesday, April 5) to his programme.
Van der Poel, who has focussed his spring around the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix since starting his foray into WorldTour road racing in 2019, will make his debut in the race on Wednesday.
"A race in my own region is always nice," Van der Poel said in his team's press release.
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"Some extra race rhythm in the run-up to Paris-Roubaix is good, and besides, I'm looking forward to trying to help - as I did twice in Tirreno - our leader Jasper Philipsen in the sprint."
Philipsen won the Scheldeprijs in 2021 in a reduced bunch sprint, beating Sam Bennett and Mark Cavendish from a group that formed in brutal crosswinds just 55km into the stage.
The Scheldeprijs is considered a sprinter's classic, although it is less simple than it once was. It starts in Terneuzen in the Netherlands and heads north through the Western Scheldt Tunnel, then east towards Hoogerheide - the site of Van der Poel's UCI Cyclocross World Championship title in February.
The race lacks the cobbled climbs that define most of the classics in Flanders, but it is often subject to crosswinds that shatter the peloton.
Last year, Alexander Kristoff attacked on the last of three cobbled sections in Schoten and soloed away to victory.
