Scheldeprijs to take place today
The 104th edition of Scheldeprijs will take place today and that makes the Antwerp Classic the oldest still organized cycling race in Flanders.
This year the organizers have reduced the number of riders and teams allowed to take part in order to make the race safer. The number of riders will go down from 200 to 176 while the number of teams goes down from 25 to 22.
Moreover, the organizers have altered the finishing part of the race for safety reasons as well. The Scheldeprijs is considered to be the “Sprinters` World Championship” and that makes the end of the race more risky as a massive sprint is often hectic and nervous. To increase safety the trajectory of the final was modified as the final straight in the Churchill Avenue in Schoten will be shortened to roughly 800 meters. As a result, the riders should be prevented from forming a so-called “bulb” which was the reason of several crashed in the recent years.
This years` edition is 208 KM long and has no categorized climbs along the course. In the final 50 KM the riders will go around a circuit three times before sprinting for the win in Schoten.
The 22 participating teams are:
World Tour: Etixx-Quick.Step; Lotto-Soudal; Team Tinkoff; Ag2r-La Mondiale; FdJ; Giant-Alpecin; Team Sky; Astana; Team LottoNL-Jumbo; Team Katusha; Cannondale; Trek-Segafredo; Team Dimension Data.
Pro-Continetal: Wanty-Groupe Gobert; Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise; Cofidis; Fortuneo-VitalConcept; Bora-Argon18; Roompot Oranje Peloton; CCC Sprandi Polkowice; Southeast-Venezuela; Direct Energie.
