Tim Merlier nets win number 7 of the season at Scheldeprijs - "And we’re not at the end of spring yet"

Tim Merlier of Soudal - Quick-Step is a sprinter that seems to grow by the year and in 2025 his level is perhaps even higher than before. Now in the European Champion's jersey, he successfully defended his title at the Scheldeprijs.

“It’s the second time I’ve won here, but it’s especially nice in this jersey," Merlier said in a post-race interview. “I didn’t know there had been a crash, but it was behind us. I still had Jordi Warlop and Bert Vanlerberghe with me, and Bert told me to stay calm.”

The finale of the Belgian classic was very tense and a mass crash took out around half of the peloton. However, surprisingly, most of the main favourites managed to evade it and still go on to fight for the race win.

The leadout was not ideal for the Belgian, but he details the final kilometers in which he managed to save the legs enough to then have the strongest sprint in the peloton.

“It was a small group, so with one kilometre to go Bert launched his lead out. He then made a gesture with his arm that I had to move in. After that I was in the wind for a bit too long, but I was able to get out nicely and didn’t get boxed in".

In the final meters, another confident win, this time ahead of Jasper Philipsen - repeating last year's scenario. "And we’re not at the end of spring yet, but this is very high," he concluded when referring to his seventh win of the year already.