Scheldeprijs 2018 [FULL RACE]

April 04, 2018

Scheldeprijs 2018 – Terneuzen – Schoten : 200,4 km

A midweek offering for the sprinters in the week between Flanders and Roubaix, Scheldeprijs is an important fixture on the classics calendar.

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 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 and has won five of the last six editions of the race. Former winner Mark Cavendish and André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) won’t line out for the race but there remains a number of fast men who will challenge the German for victory. Arnaud Démare and Dylan Groenewegen are two inform sprinters in particular worth watching in the expected bunch sprint finale.

Fabio Jakobson continued Quick-Step Floors’ incredible start to the season with a surprise win in Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, in reduced bunch sprint victory over Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Chris Lawless (Team Sky).

The race appeared to be heading towards a Marcel Kittel procession, with the German looking for his sixth title, but a string of incidents in the race – including a late puncture for the German – saw a number of high-profile candidates ruled out.

The main talking point came earlier in the race when a near 30-strong group containing Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) was disqualified after ignoring UCI rules at a level crossing. At that point, the bunch had split into several echelons, with both riders caught out in a second group. They tried to ride over the crossing too late and were disqualified as a result.

With Katusha and Kittel making the split it looked as though the German would take the win but his late puncture turned the race on its head. There were several late attacks, with none of the remaining sprint teams willing or able enough to control affairs.

Step forward Jakobson and Quick-Step, who wrestled control at the front of the field inside the closing kilometres. Lawless, already a victor in Team Sky colours this season, opened the sprint and looked to be heading for another win but his Quick-Step rival was simply too strong, with Ackermann coming around the British rider to steal second.

Jakobson, still just 21, but a winner of Nokere Koerse earlier this year, was asked to explain his team’s dominance this season.

“I think it’s because we start winning and everyone starts to believe in it. We always go for one guy full gas and that is the strength of the pack. When one person starts winning, we all want to start winning. It’s amazing to be in ‘the wolfpack’,” Jakobsen said.

Cross-winds come into play

The 2018 Scheldeprijs course was redesigned with a start in Terneuzen, Netherlands. Compared with the massive crowds in Mol last year, the fans didn’t find the way to Terneuzen on Wednesday. The first 100 kilometres through the flatlands in the Zeeland region didn’t disappoint. Grey clouds and a strong wind resulted in proper racing. Most roads connecting two villages were placed on top of a dyke, leaving the riders battling against the wind.

Unsurprisingly, on countless occasions, echelons were formed. Top favourite Marcel Kittel ended up at the back of the race when he punctured. Thanks to the support of Tony Martin, he managed to get back to the first peloton. A group of riders crashed hard into a small parked car. Among the victims were Lawrence Naesen (Lotto-Soudal), Phil Bauhaus (Sunweb), Marko Kump (CCC), Carlos Alzate, Eric Marcotte and Travis McCabe for United Healthcare.

After the first hour in the race, averaged at 48 kph, five riders escaped the peloton. They were Jan-Willem van Schip (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij), Sean De Bie (Lotto-Soudal), Jonas Rickaert (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Alexander Cataford (United Healthcare).

Groenewegen and Démare disqualified

The five leaders collected more than three minutes on the peloton but at the 100km mark, racing again kicked off in the peloton. In Krabbendijke, the first echelon safely passed through a train crossing. A second peloton of about 35 riders, led by French champion Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), ignored the lights and lowering barriers. A third and fourth echelon stopped at the barriers. Little later, the race jury took the Démare-group out of the race. Pre-race favourite Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) was also part of this group. Meanwhile, the five leaders were caught back by the first peloton.

When entering Belgium in Putte-Kapellen, after 130 kilometres of racing, rain welcomed the riders. With the Zeeland battle being over, the race situation was more clear. At this point in the race, only 54 riders were left in the main peloton. The Katusha team of Marcel Kittel took the lead, with all riders of the team present except for Tony Martin who was part of the group that was taken out after the train crossing.

Owain Doull (Sky) and Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ) attacked the peloton in Ekeren at 60 kilometres from the finish. The duo reached the finish line to start the first of three 17km long local laps, riding one minute ahead of the bunch.

During the first local lap, it started to rain heavily when the riders reached the 1700 metres long pavé section of the Broekstraat. Katusha received support from Quick-Step Floors in order to bring the breakaway group back. With two laps to go, the gap was down to 1:20. When hitting the final lap, the gap to the two leaders was down to 37 seconds.

Finale

With Katusha stacking the front of the peloton it looked as though the peloton were willing to submit to the inevitable Kittle win. However, with just 12km the script was torn up when the five-time winner had a mechanical. He was chasing soon enough but his constant head-shaking suggested all was not well. Over the next six kilometres he chased back to the bunch but with just under seven kilometres to go he threw in the towel.

The Katusha-shaped hole at the front was filed by a number of team but several opportunists looking to escape after the Doull group was caught. With two kilometres to go Team Sky and Quick-Step traded turns on the front but Jakobson proved the fastest.

Results :
1 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick-Step Floors 4:23:51
2 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
3 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Sky
4 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal
5 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) Vital Concept Club
6 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb
7 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
8 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
9 Bram Welten (Ned) Fortuneo-Oscaro
10 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin
11 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
12 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
13 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
14 Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
15 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
16 Maarten Wynants (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
17 Jan Willem van Schip (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
18 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
19 Taylor Phinney (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
20 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky
21 Nicolas Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data
22 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
23 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
24 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
25 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Floors
26 Sean De Bie (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
27 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
28 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
29 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
30 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:08
31 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert 0:00:13
32 Robert Wagner (Ger) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:15
33 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Sky 0:00:16
34 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
35 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
36 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
37 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
38 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
39 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic 0:00:25
40 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:36
41 Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:45
42 Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
43 Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:07
44 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Team Virtu Cycling 0:01:27
45 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:28
46 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:44
47 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
48 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:50
49 Julien Morice (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:02:41
50 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin 0:03:11
51 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ
52 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Lotto Soudal
53 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
54 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky 0:03:34
55 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
56 Alexander Cataford (Can) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:04:39
57 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin 0:05:11
58 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:05:14
DSQ Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
DSQ Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DSQ Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
DSQ Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
DSQ Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
DSQ Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
DSQ Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) LottoNL-Jumbo
DSQ Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
DSQ Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
DSQ Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
DSQ Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb
DSQ Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DSQ Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DSQ Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
DSQ Kim Magnusson (Swe) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
DSQ Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
DSQ Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DSQ Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DSQ Michael Carbel (Den) Fortuneo-Oscaro
DSQ Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
DSQ Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DSQ Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DSQ Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DSQ Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DSQ Mathias De Witte (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DSQ Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vital Concept Club
DSQ Steven Lammertink (Ned) Vital Concept Club
DSQ Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DSQ Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DSQ Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DSQ Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DSQ Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DSQ Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DSQ Patryk Stosz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DSQ Tanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
DNF Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Lawrence Naesen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
DNF Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
DNF Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
DNF Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team
DNF Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
DNF Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
DNF Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Shane Archbold (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Dorian Godon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
DNF Maxime Daniel (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
DNF Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Oscaro
DNF Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Fortuneo-Oscaro
DNF Sondre Enger (Nor) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Roy Goldstein (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Benjamin Perry (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Hamish Schreurs (NZl) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Tyler Williams (USA) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Aviv Yechezkel (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Tim Ariesen (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Maxime Farazijn (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Elias Van Breussegem (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Arjen Livyns (Bel) Beat Cycling Club
DNF Zico Waeytens (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Corentin Ermenault (Fra) Vital Concept Club
DNF Adrien Garel (Fra) Vital Concept Club
DNF Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept Club
DNF Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DNF Mark McNally (Irl) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DNF Kenny Dehaes (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Franklin Six (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Maxime Vantomme (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Marko Kump (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Pawel Bernas (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Jan Tratnik (Slo) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
DNF Carlos Eduardo Alzate Escobar (Col) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
DNF Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
DNF Adrian Hegyvary (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
DNF Eric Marcotte (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
DNF Travis McCabe (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling