Scheldeprijs 2016 [FULL RACE] (dutch)

April 06, 2016

Antwerp – Schoten – 207,8 km

The 2016 Scheldeprijs is a one-day semi-classic cycling race that took place in Belgium on 6 April 2016. The race began in Antwerp and finished in Schoten, covering a course of 207.8 kilometres (129.1 mi). It is rated as a 1.HC event as part of the 2016 UCI Europe Tour.

Marcel Kittel (Etixx Quickstep) won his fourth Scheldeprijs title on Wednesday after a sprint finish against Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).

The German led out the sprint with Cavendish waiting until the final 100 meters before trying to counter. Despite a valiant effort from the British rider, Kittel was able to hold on and take the win. Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) finished third.

Kittel’s win puts him ahead of Cavendish in the all-time record books with the German on four wins in Scheldeprijs and Cavendish stuck on three.

“The team did a super job to get me in the right position. It was a good fight with Mark,” Kittel said at the finish.

“I said before the race that I’m not here to make history, I’m racing for joy, for pleasure, just riding my bike. It’s even better if I could get the record here for the wins in the Scheldeprijs. I like this race. Sometimes it’s not easy, like today. You normally always have the best sprinters here, and it’s great to win.”

Kittel, of course, replaced Cavendish at Etixx over the winter with the British rider moving to Dimension Data. Such sub-plots mattered little today, with the win the only objective for both riders. They of weren’t the only contenders who lined up in Antwerp with Greipel, Elia Viviani (Team Sky), and defending champion Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) all potential winners.

The riders lined up in the shadow of the MAS Pavilion museum in the renovated Antwerp docks, using the modern building to protect them from the cold western wind that was blowing across northern Belgium.

Fabian Cancellara (Trek Segafredo) chatted calmly with Germany’s Robert Wagner (LottoNL-Jumbo), while Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) avoided the clamour of the Belgian cycling fans by quickly signing on and then only returning to the start area after the first riders rolled away for the 208km race.

With the grey skies gathering, none of the 162 starters were in the mood to race hard from the start. The early break of the day formed soon after the official race start in Schoten. In it were Lieuwe Westra (Astana), Sander Helven (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Berden De Vries (Roompot), French national champion Steven Tronet (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), Nico Denz (AG2R La Mondiale) and Tomasz Kiendys (CCC Sprandi Polkowice). Other riders tried to go across but were quickly controlled before the peloton allowed the six to open a lead of three minutes.

The gap rose to five minutes after 45 kilometers of racing, with a tailwind helping the break as they headed north, despite rain beginning to fall. After a 100km the gap was down to three minutes as the different sprinters’ team put a rider on the front of the peloton to help the chase. The peloton split into several groups after 150km of racing, with Sagan caught behind but the rainbow jersey was soon back up front with some help from two teammates.

The break ran out of steam as the race approached the finish area. Frederik Backaert (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) jumped away alone and was then joined by Brian Van Goethem (Rompoot). They got the first cheer from the crowd but never opened a huge advantage. Belgian national champion Preben Van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen) and Sebastien Turgot (AG2R La Mondiale) tried to go across, but with the likes of Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) helping with the chase, they were quickly pulled back.

The rain started to come down hard with 40km left to race and this sparked the early retirement of Ian Stannard (Team Sky) who preferred to save himself for Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. Other riders preferred to stay on or near the front to avoid possible crashes but the riders seemed to respect each others’ safety as the circuit twisted around the country roads east of Antwerp.

The wind added an extra factor to the race, with the peloton lined out as the speed increased. Dimension Data rode carefully to protect Cavendish and the hint of an echelon saw several riders go out the back. Boonen ensured he was well placed but after dropping off young teammate Erik Baska, Sagan sat up and slipped out of the race via the back door, preferring to avoid any risks before Paris-Roubaix.

Dimension Data continued to lead the race as the last lap approached with Matt Brammeier on the front for the African team before Lotto Soudal and Etixx-Quickstep also moved up. The pace was not yet high as the bell rang for the start of the final 18.6km lap around Schoten.

With the race approaching the final 10 kilometers Etixx, Lotto Soudal and Dimension Data vied for control but it wasn’t until the final 3km that Kittel’s team began to dominate. Tyler Farrar, who had helped Cavendish position himself on Kittel’s back wheel – almost a victory in itself given the effort it required – peeled off, leaving Kittel, Cavendish and Greipel as the three best positioned sprinters.

Kittel led the sprint out, and it quickly became apparent that Griepel lacked the freshness in his legs to compete. Cavendish had hung on, and he opted to come around Kittel’s right. He was pulling level as the line approached but Kittel had more in the tank and one last push for the line saw the Etixx rider come out on top.

Results :

1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step 4:54:05
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
3 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
4 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
5 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
6 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
7 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
8 Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
9 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
10 Daniel Mclay (GBr) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
11 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
12 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18
13 Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
14 Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
15 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
16 Boris Vallee (Bel) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
17 Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ 0:00:03
18 André Looij (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
19 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
20 Erik Baska (Svk) Tinkoff Team
21 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
22 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
23 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
24 Eryk Laton (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
25 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
26 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
27 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:00:09
28 Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) Etixx – Quick-Step
29 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:00:11
30 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
31 Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
32 Jack Bauer (NZl) Cannondale Pro Cycling
33 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
34 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:00:14
35 Barry Markus (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
36 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept 0:00:20
37 Rayane Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
38 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
39 Maxime Farazijn (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
40 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
41 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
42 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
43 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
44 Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
45 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
46 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:23
47 Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff Team 0:00:25
48 Matteo Draperi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
49 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team
50 Michal Kolár (Svk) Tinkoff Team
51 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
52 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
53 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro Team
54 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
55 Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
56 Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
57 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Team
58 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
59 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale Pro Cycling
60 Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data 0:00:29
61 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
62 Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
63 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
64 Tim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
65 Shane Archbold (NZl) Bora-Argon 18
66 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Lotto Soudal
67 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
68 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
69 Robert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
70 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
71 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Katusha
72 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 0:00:39
73 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
74 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
75 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Team Katusha
76 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela 0:00:42
77 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
78 Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:49
79 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Bora-Argon 18 0:00:51
80 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:07
81 Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
82 Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18 0:01:18
83 Ivar Slik (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
84 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:01:20
85 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:01:23
86 Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data 0:01:27
87 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 0:01:31
88 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:01:41
89 Enrique Sanz (Spa) Southeast – Venezuela 0:01:44
90 Robin Stenuit (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:01:50
91 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Bora-Argon 18 0:01:52
92 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 0:02:03
93 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale Pro Cycling
94 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie 0:02:07
95 Borut Bozic (Slo) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
96 Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
97 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
98 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:02:15
99 Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:02:18
100 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
101 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
102 Kenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
103 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
104 Julien Morice (Fra) Direct Energie
105 Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
106 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
107 Stijn Steels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
108 Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha 0:02:25
109 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie 0:02:44
110 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ 0:03:05
111 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
112 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Dimension Data
113 Adam Blythe (GBr) Tinkoff Team
114 Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier (Fra) FDJ
115 Ryan Anderson (Can) Direct Energie
116 Jesse Sergent (NZl) AG2R La Mondiale
117 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
118 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
119 Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie
120 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
121 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data 0:04:10
122 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
123 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie
124 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
125 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
126 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
127 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team
128 Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:12
129 Steven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
130 Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
131 Vegard Breen (Nor) Fortuneo – Vital Concept 0:05:17
132 Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJ
133 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
134 Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor) Cannondale Pro Cycling
135 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
136 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Team Sky
137 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data 0:05:48
138 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
139 Steven Lammertink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:07:56
140 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
141 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
142 Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
143 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
144 Andrea Dal Col (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
145 Maxime Cam (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
146 Lander Seynaeve (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
147 Mirko Trosino (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
148 Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
149 Nikolay Mihaylov (Bul) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
150 Mirko Tedeschi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
DNF Nils Politt (Ger) Team Katusha
DNF Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Maxat Ayazbayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
DNF Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team
DNF Tomasz Kiendys (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Berden De Vries (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Aimé Degendt (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Sander Helven (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNS Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team