Scheldeprijs 2021

Philipsen beats Bennett to win Scheldeprijs

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) won his first major Classic, taking out the bunch sprint victory in the 2021 edition of the Scheldeprijs.

The Belgian timed his sprint perfectly to win by a wheel over pre-race favourite Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep).

Mark Cavendish chalked up his best one-day result in years, taking third in a race he's won three times, the last victory a decade earlier in 2011.

The race started with snow and cold temperatures and brutal crosswinds that split the peloton. More than half of the bunch climbed into the team buses before the final lap.

However, most of the top sprinters made the front split, with Pascal Ackermann unable to capitalise on the hard work of his Bora-Hansgrohe teammates and Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos) unable to get through the traffic.

Dries de Bondt and then Jonas Rickaert brought Philipsen into position up the right-hand side and Bennett waited too long to jump off his lead-out into the headwind, reversing the similar result of the Classic Brugge-De Panne.

Scheldeprijs teams

• Lotto Soudal
• AG2R Citroën
• Astana-Premier Tech
• Bora-Hansgrohe
• Cofidis
• Deceuninck-QuickStep
• Groupama-FDJ
• Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
• Israel Start-Up Nation
• Team DSM
• Team Qhubeka Assos
• UAE Team Emirates
• Alpecin-Fenix
• B&B Hotels p/b KTM
• Bingoal Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles
• Delko
• Rally Cycling
• Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
• Team Arkea-Samsic
• Total Direct Energie
• Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
• Vini Zabu-KTM
• BEAT Cycling
• EvoPro Racing