Tim Merlier will be Soudal - Quick-Step's hope for Scheldeprijs win in Classics campaign to forget

Amidst misery, Tim Merlier has been the only member of the Soudal - Quick-Step's classics group who can be somewhat satisfied with his own performances, winning the Nokere Koerse, finishing second at Brugge-De Panne and 8th at hard Gent-Wevelgem. At Wednesday's Scheldeprijs, which should go down in a sprint, he could add another 2024 win to his name.

The former Belgian champion will be Wolfpack's only card for this race. His loyal leadout Bert Van Lerberghe has proved he can handle windy races well. Thus he could play a significant in theoretical echelons. Young Luke Lamperti will be Quick-Step's back-up sprinter.

"Scheldeprijs is the sprinters’ classic and we come to the start with Tim, who is the sprinter with the most victories to his name since the start of the season. We can count on a strong lead-out: Bert will be there to launch him, Luke has the skills and the speed to help in the finale, while Casper and Gianni come with the experience and power to bring our train in a good position. We also have Warre and Jordi, who can control the race, which should be quite windy. We could have some echelons in the first part, before headwind on the local laps, so it will be nervous and it remains to be seen how it will go. We have a chance of fighting for the win and we’ll do our best to get it," said sports director Iljo Keisse in press release.

Soudal - Quick-Step lineup for Scheldeprijs:
Luke Lamperti, Tim Merlier, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen, Bert Van Lerberghe, Warre Vangheluwe and Jordi Warlop