The Paris-Roubaix favourites get a chance to spin their legs ahead of next Sunday's Hell of the North while the sprinters take center stage in tomorrow's Scheldeprijs semi-classic. Known as the sprinters' world championships, the flat race around the city of Schoten is one of the most important spring events for the fast finishers and has a history of producing one of the most exciting and competitive bunch sprints of the season with a high-level line-up that usually includes all the biggest names on the sprinting scene.

 

The series of cobbled races in Flanders will come to a close with an event that is slightly different from the ones that have dominated the past few weeks. Scheldeprijs may be a Flemish race, take in a few cobbles and be held in the holy period of Belgian cycling but it takes place in a different part of the country, far from the hellingen that characterize the other major Flemish one-day classics, and so offers another kind of racing.

 

With a flat parcours, Scheldeprijs makes for a perfect transition from the hilly Flemish races to the flat pavés of the Paris-Roubaix. Like the French classic, the race is entirely flat and its main challenges are a few flat cobblestone sectors but apart from that, the races are completely different. While Paris-Roubaix is one of the most selective races of the entire season, Scheldeprijs finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum. The Broeckstraat pavé - the main feature of the race - is not hard enough to make any significant difference and so the race is one of the most coveted events for the sprinters.

 

The calendar is loaded with flat one-day races for the sprinters but Scheldeprijs is in a league of its own. No big sprinter can be completely satisfied with his career if he hasn't added the race known as the world championships for the sprinters to his palmares. What marks the race out from the other flat races is its long history. Held for the first time in 1907, Scheldeprijs is one of the most historic races and in fact it is the oldest race in Flanders.  The victory list contains the names of most of the sport's fastest finishers and with the likes of Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel, Alexander Kristoff, Tyler Farrar, Alessandro Petacchi and Tom Boonen all former winners of the race, many of the current generations' top sprinters have already made their mark in the traditional finish in Schoten just outside of Antwerp. As most other Belgian races, it was dominated by the home nation in its first years but as the sport became more international and the race gained prestige, its list of winners became more diverse and now the race hasn't been won by a Belgian since Tom Boonen won the sprint in 2006.

 

While most of the big Belgian one-day races take place in a very small area in the Flemish Ardennes, Scheldeprijs is different. Its centre is the small city of Schoten just outside of Antwerp and this part of Belgium is completely flat. Wind and the few pavés may play a role but it is now wonder that this race has become an affair for the sprinters.

 

Held on the Wednesday after Paris-Roubaix, the race was the final race of the cobbles season for many years. However, with just a small number of kilometres on the rough surface, the biggest classics specialists had limited opportunities to force a selection, and the main stars of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix often chose to end their spring season in the Roubaix velodrome three days prior to Scheldeprijs. Instead, it became somewhat of an adjunct to one of the most exciting periods of racing that was held at a time when many of its potential contenders were fatigued.

 

In a general reshuffle of the Belgian spring calendar in 2010, Scheldeprijs took over the calendar date of Gent-Wevelgem on the Wednesday between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and this proved to be a wise decision. Instead of being a superfluous end to a long spring season, the race now offers the classics specialists an opportunity to keep their legs going and put in one final test on the pavés ahead of their major target on Sunday. Brabantse Pijl has taken over its previous date, making a much more natural shift from the cobbles to the hillier races in the Ardennes.

 

As a consequence, the race has been able to attract a much stronger field that is not just dominated by the sprinters. Nowadays, the biggest sprinters mingle with the favourites for Paris-Roubaix but they have completely different ambitions in the race. While the likes of Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara, Lars Boom, Ian Stannard, Peter Sagan and Luke Rowe may test their legs on the cobbles before they drop back or even abandon, sprinters like Marcel Kittel, Andrea Gaurdini, André Greipel, Elia Viviani, Sam Bennett and Dylan Groenewegen have marked it out as one of their most important races and will go all out for victory, making the race is a strange combination of preparation and highlight. Unfortunately, it has often been marred by a lot of crashes and it is always a delicate affair for the Roubaix contenders to decide whether to do the race or not.

 

The organizers are aware of the reputation that the race is a bit of a crashfest and we have seen some spectacular crashes in the sprints in the last few years. For 2016, they have taken a number of measures to improve safety. First of all, they have shortened the finishing straight which will make it harder to change position in the finale and with fewer riders coming from behind, it should be less dangerous. Furthermore, they have reduced the size of the field, hoping that fewer riders on the narrow roads will make a difference.

 

In recent years, the race has been dominated by the two sprinters who have been the fastest riders for almost a decade. Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish have both won the race thrice but after they both had to skip the race in 2015, they will both be aiming for history in 2016. Apart from that, Nacer Bouhanni and Giacomo Nizzolo, John Degenkolb, Bryan Coquard and Sacha Modolo are probably the only big-name sprinters absent from a field that is absolutely stellar.

 

Last year Alexander Kristoff continued his impressive domination by claiming victory in the mid-week classic on the back of his Tour of Flanders triumph and his three stage wins and overall victory in De Panne. Another great Katusha lead-out set him up perfectly for the sprint and he easily held off Edward Theuns and Yauheni Hutarovich to add another big one-day race to his growing palmares. The Norwegian will try to defend his title and again show his growing condition and he will again be up against Theuns who is one of the sprinting options at Trek. Hutarovich won’t return in 2016 as he is riding in Sarthe.

 

The course

The course follows a very traditional format and even though it varies slightly from year to year, there are never any major surprises in store for the contenders. The key points are always the same. After an opening big loop, the race finishes with three laps of a finishing circuit that includes the Broeckstraat pavé and this part of the race is unchanged from year to year.

 

As said, the organizers have made a key change in 2016 to make the race safer. The well-known 16.8km finishing has only been changed slightly but the finish line has been moved, meaning that the finishing straight is shorter. Apart from that, the race will follow it’s usual format even though it is slightly longer

 

A closer look at the 207.8km course immediately reveals why the race is known as the sprinters' world championships. The race takes place in a completely flat part of Belgium near the Schelde river, and the riders will completely avoid the Flemish Ardennes which characterize most of the Belgian spring races.

 

The race has had a few different starting points but the neutral start is now back where it all started, in the major city of Antwerp. From there it heads to the nearby town of Schoten in which the race will kick off properly and where it will all end later in the day.

 

The first part of the race consists of a big, completely flat 142.7km loop in the area northeast of the city. From the start, the riders head northeast along straight roads before zigzagging their way back south to the first feed zone at the 103.9km mark. From there, they head straight west back towards Schoten, passing their first 1000m of pavé after 130.4km of racing.

 

At the 147.1km mark, the riders reach the city of Wijnegem for the first time at here they go over the race's main feature, the 1700m Broeckstraat pavé. They have now entered the finishing circuit and will make a right-hand turn to head back to Schoten in an easterly direction.

 

After 157.4km of racing, the riders will cross the finish line for the first time and they will end the day by doing three laps of a 16.8 flat finishing circuit. It is almost rectangular and mostly has the riders travelling in westerly or easterly directions. It is mostly non-technical and the only real challenge is the Broeckstraat pave which comes inside the final 10km of the circuit. From there, the race mostly follows a straight road and the finish is located at the end of a long road on the Churchilllaan in Schoten. There’s a roundabout just a few metres from the line.

 

Compared to last year, the course is virtually unchanged and only a few minor modifications in the first part of the big loop have increased the overall distance by around 8km. Furthermore, 400m have been added to the finishing circuit which is otherwise largely the same. Finally, the finish line has been moved.

 

The race generally pans out as a traditional sprint stage in a major Grand Tour, and an early breakaway will take off and take center stage in the opening part of the race. The battle becomes more intense as they pass the finish line in Schoten for the first time where the battle for position intensifies.

 

It is important to be well-positioned for the Broeckstraat. Even though the rough surface is rarely enough to force any major selection, some of the riders with ambitions for the Paris-Roubaix often use the opportunity to test their legs on the three passages of the pavé. They move to the front and accelerate on the cobbles while riders struggle to keep in contact behind.

 

As they exit the zone, the race often calms down again, thus allowing dropped riders to get back on, and the sprinters' teams continue their pace-setting in an attempt to reel in any breakaways. The race may be a bit more aggressive than a grand tour sprint stage, with a number of late moves being launched. Successful escapes are extremely rare, and it would be a surprise not to see the major teams bring everything back together for a final bunch kick in Schoten.

 

 

 

The weather

In the past, Scheldeprijs has often been marred by very bad weather which has made the cobbles slippery and the sprint finishes extremely dangerous. We have seen some rather bad crashes but hopefully we will be spared in the 2016 edition.

 

After the tough Gent-Wevelgem and Driedaagse van de Panne, the riders had nice weather for the Tour of Flanders. However, the pleasant Belgian spring weather has disappeared for Wednesday which will be cloudy and relatively cold with a maximum temperature of 12 degrees. Furthermore, there’s a 25% chance that we will have rain late in the afternoon.

 

Most importantly, there will be a strong wind from a southwesterly direction. This means that the riders will first have a tailwind and then mostly a cross-headwind on the big circuit. On the finishing circuit, it will mostly be a cross-headwind or a cross-tailwind. It will be a cross-tailwind for the first part, then a cross-headwind and finally a cross-headwind for the final few kilometres back to Schoten. The riders will have to tackle a cross-tailwind when they power down the finishing straight for the sprint on the Churchilllaan in the Flemish city, meaning that it will be a fast sprint

 

The favourites

Whenever a race is seen as a race for the sprinters, it often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. A few teams use the race merely to prepare for Sunday's Paris-Roubaix but every team which has any kind of competitive ambitions in tomorrow's race, line up a strong sprinter and a solid team to support him. As the event is one of the most prestigious one-day races that can be won by a sprinter, most of the fast finishers have made it a clear objective for which they have specifically prepared. They won't let this opportunity slip away and most teams line up with the clear plan of bringing things together for a big bunch sprint.

 

With most teams gunning for a sprint finish, the only thing that can really create some selection is the wind or the many crashes that have often marred the event. The Broeckstraat cobbles will sap the energy from the riders' legs and may cause a loss of position for some of the fast finishers while some of the riders at the rear end of the peloton may be send out the back door. However, history proves that even hard accelerations on this pavé sector is not enough to create any major gaps and so it is mainly a testing ground for Paris-Roubaix contenders with little impact on the result of the race.

 

Tomorrow will be both rainy and windy so the conditions are there to try to make things more selective. The windy conditions will make it very nervous and even though the organizers have taken initiatives to make the race safer, this weather means that crashes are likely to happen. Hence, the Paris-Roubaix contenders will probably be very cautious and we may see some of them leave the race earlier than usual.

 

On the big circuit, it will mainly be a tail- or a cross-headwind and that’s not the perfect scenario to create echelons. Hence, we expect things to largely stay together until we get to the finishing circuit. Here there will be a cross-tailwind section which can potentially he dangerous. However, the roads are less exposed here and so splits are still unlikely. However, echelons can be formed here.

 

Overall, the tension will make the race a bit harder but as Etixx-QuickStep, Dimension Data, Lotto Soudal Sky and Katusha will all be going for a bunch sprint, there is no chance that we won’t get a sprint finish. The windy conditions mean that we may have a slightly smaller field than usual but this race will again be decided by sprinters.

 

The race is known as the World Championships for sprinters and so it is only fitting that the fastest rider has won it three times in a row and is aiming to become the first rider with four victories in 2016. Marcel Kittel dominated the race from 2012 and 2014 but lost his crown in 2015 as he had to skip the race due to the health issues that marred his season. Now he returns to the race and he has done nothing to hide that it is his first big goal of the year.

 

Kittel has returned with a bang in 2016. Right from the start of the year, he was winning his bunch sprints by several bike lengths and he has again confirmed that he is by far the fastest rider in the world. He was a bit ill at Paris-Nice and this created some doubts about his condition in the harder races but he silenced his critics last week in De Panne. The German was with the best for a long time in the hard first stage and even did a massive job for Tony Martin. One day later he was beaten in the first sprint but only because he had to start too early in the headwind and he proved his class by winning one day later.

 

Kittel is not only the fastest rider in the field. He has the best train at his disposal. Many doubted whether Etixx-QuickStep could build a new train early in the season but the Belgians have dominated most sprints until now. To make things even better, this is the first race where the entire team is gathered. Maximilano Richeze is back from injury and rode with Kittel in De Panne. He is one of the best lead-out men in the world as he was the key to Sacha Modolo’s dominance at the Giro sprints last year. Fabio Sabatini has been invaluable until now and for his race he can even add Tom Boonen and Matteo Trentin to slot into the roles before the Italians. Lukasz Wisniowski adds the firepower for the final 5km and Davide Martinelli and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck will control the break.

 

Dimension Data and Katusha both have trains that are able to take on Etixx-QuickStep and there is no guarantee that Kittel will start his sprint from the front. However, he will be in a very good position and then his speed will be enough to make the difference. It’s a tailwind sprint so he can go from afar and will be very hard to beat here. Kittel is the favourite to win the race.

 

Surprisingly, Kittel was beaten by Elia Viviani in De Panne. The Italian has often proved that he has the speed to beat everybody and the only name missing from the list was Kittel. He has now established himself as a favourite for the pure bunch sprints and he will be aiming for victory tomorrow. Sky have a good train with Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe, Danny Van Poppel and final lead-out man Andrew Fenn but they don’t have the firepower to compete with the best. However, in De Panne, they did an excellent job to position Viviani on Kittel’s wheel and then he had the speed to come around. This will again be the strategy tomorrow and Viviani has proved that Kittel cannot allow himself to make just the smallest mistake.

 

Many are curious to see how Mark Cavendish will be doing in his first race since Milan-Sanremo. He has been riding a lot on the track and has not been in the best form for the road races. He still managed to win Tour of Qatar overall and in that race he proved that he is still one of the fastest riders in the world. He is now back on the road and he should have more endurance now.

 

This is the first time that most of the Dimension Data train is gathered and they are strong. They don’t have Etixx-QuickStep’s firepower but Mark Renshaw is a very experienced and smart lead-out man. Unfortunately, he crashed in Flanders and he may be ruled out, with a decision set to be taken in the morning. This will be a big setback for Cavendish but if Renshaw is there, he should be able to start his sprint near the front and he definitely has the speed to win.

 

Alexander Kristoff is the defending champion after he won the race during his dominant run last year. However, back then the fastest sprinters were all absent and this made it significantly easier for him. It has never been a secret that he is not as fast as Kittel, Cavendish and Greipel in the pure sprints and this was evident last week in De Panne where Kittel easily beat him.

 

However, Kristoff has won big advantage: his train. Last year Haller-Guarnieri-Kristoff dominated almost every sprint and this year they have only become stronger with the addition of Mørkøv. Guarnieri is probably the best lead-out man in the world which he again showed in stage 3a in De Panne. There is a big chance that Kristoff will be delivered on the front and so he should benefit from the shorter finishing straight. However, it will be difficult to beat the faster riders.

 

Usually, André Greipel would be won of the big favourites for a race that is still missing from his palmares. However, the German has just come back from injury and his form is not at his best. Nonetheless, he did a fantastic race in Flanders where he proved that he can again accelerate which was difficult when his rib still hurt.

 

However, his form is not the main concern. Greipel doesn’t have his famous train here and he will only have Marcel Sieberg at his side. Sieberg is probably the best rider in the world to set the pace at the flamme rouge but he is not fast enough inside the final kilometre. He will have to drop Greipel off near the front and then the German has to fend for himself. He is not very good at positioning himself, especially not on wet roads, so it will be difficult to be in a winning position for the sprint.

 

Dylan Groenewegen has had an amazing start to his WorldTour career, most notably with his impressive victory in Valencia where he beat Nacer Bouhanni. LottoNL-Jumbo have worked a lot to get a real train for their Dutch talent and they are constantly getting better. At the same time, Groenewegen is getting a lot stronger and he now seems to benefit from a hard race while still being one of the fastest. His team is still not able to match the best in the finale but Groenewegen has the speed to challenge the best.

 

Andrea Guardini is one of the fastest riders in the world and he can beat most when it comes to pure speed. However, he has not had much luck in his sprints this year. Astana is totally geared to stage raceing and he has no train. As he is not very good at positioning himself, he has been unable to start his sprint in a decent position and he has barely contested a single sprint in Europe. However, he is still one of the fastest so if for once he can get into a good position, he can win the race.

 

Sam Bennett is one of the biggest sprinting talents in the world and so it is definitely a good idea for Bora-Argon 18 to build a train around him. He has beaten most of the fastest guys in the world, most notably in Qatar last year. He recently got his first win in Corsica after illness set him back in Tirreno. He has the speed to be up there but the big challenge will be the positioning. Bora-Argon 18 have a good train but Bennett often loses his teammates in the finale and he needs to improve this to win these races.

 

Wouter Wippert nearly beat Mark Cavendish several times in last year’s Tour of California. Now he has joined the WorldTour with Cannondale but he has not had much success yet. The team doesn’t have a real train to support him and this will make things difficult, especially in a hectic race like this. He needs a bit of luck when it comes to positioning but he has the speed to be up there.

 

Edward Theuns was second in 2015 which was a bit of a surprise as he is usually not fast enough to be up there in the pure sprints. However, his positioning skills are very good and he has a really good train at his disposal, with Niccolo Bonifazio and most notably Boy van Poppel being good lead-out men. He was in great form a few weeks ago but he hasn’t timed things right and he is no longer at the same level. Still this is more about speed than form and if he can get into a good position, he could be up there again.

 

Jakub Mareczko is regarded as the future Italian top sprinter and has beaten both Guardini and Viviani this year. He definitely has the speed to be up there and he showed good form by winning a stage in Coppi e Bartali. Since then he has been set back by illness so it remains to be seen how well he has recovered. Furtermore, this race could be a bit too stressful and hectic for him as he is not very good at positioning and doesn’t have much team support.

 

Wanty have done a vert good job to build a train around Roy Jans and they looked very strong in Qatar and Oman where Jans took a number of third places against some very fast guys. Since then, things haven’t really worked out and Jans hasn’t built on the progress. However, the team has proved that they have the potential to mix it up with the best.

 

Finally, Erik Baska deserves a mention. The young Slovakian proved his impressive speed when he won Handzame Classi by beating Groenewegen. As Sagan steps into the background, he will get a big chance here. However, De Panne showed that he still misses something when it comes to positioning in the very big and hectic races and even though Tinkoff have a pretty strong lead-out, he probably still needs more experience to win.

   

***** Marcel Kittel

**** Elia Viviani, Mark Cavendish

*** Alexander Kristoff, André Greipel, Dylan Groenewegen, Andrea Guardini

** Sam Bennett, Wouter Wippert, Edward Theuns, Jakub Mareczko, Roy Jans, Erik Baska

* Nikias Arndt, Ramon Sinkeldam, Macr Sarreau, Bert Van Lerberghe, Thomas Boudat, Niccolo Bonifazio, Michael Van Staeyen, Daniel McLay, Barry Markus, André Looij