Marcel Kittel confirmed himself as king of the Scheldeprijs. The German followed the expert lead-out from his Quick-Step Floors teammates to a commanding victory in Schoten.
Elia Viviani (Team Sky) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) were on Kittel's wheel but could not come past, and finished second and third, respectively.
Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
Row 9 - Cell 2
Preview
Traditionally an appetizing midweek offering for the sprinters in the week between Flanders and Roubaix, Scheldeprijs changed start locations this year but seems likely to favour the fast finishers again with a mostly flat trek into the suburbs of Antwerp.
The 200km race will start in the town of Mol, where Quick-Step Floors' Tom Boonen was born, instead of central Antwerp. After looping past Boonen's birthplace and home, however, Scheldeprijs will head towards the circuit in Schoten that has hosted its finish for years.
The flat profile will make it hard for anyone hoping to deny the sprinters, but there are at least a few cobblestones to be covered, and the combination of a corner-filled finishing circuit and likelihood of high winds could always make things interesting. At the very least, riders should be on their toes and alert for potential pile-ups – crashes have been a frequent feature of this race in the past.
Quick-Step's Marcel Kittel is the defending champion, having claimed an impressive fourth career Scheldeprijs victory just ahead of Mark Cavendish in 2016. Cavendish is not set to start Wednesday, but André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) is, along with several other fast finishers who could be in the mix to deny Kittel a fifth win. Peter Sagan, Nacer Bouhanni, Elia Viviani, Arnaud Démare and Dylan Groenewegen are all worth watching as the race rolls onto the Schoten finishing circuit.
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