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Lidl-Trek started to take over from Quickstep on the first of the three 16.9-kilometre circuits around Schoten. They brought the gap back below one minute again. With 39km to go, Dens had to let his three companions go, leaving just Veistroffer, Desal and Eising.
When there were two laps to go, the breakaway’s lead was down to 48 seconds. The sprinters’ teams were waiting patiently to make their final push to catch the three breakaway riders.
Eising lost touch with the breakaway before the final lap, leaving Desal and Veistroffer trying to stay ahead. But when the peloton heard the bell, they quickly caught Veistroffer and sped up for a bunch sprint finish.
Desal kept riding, waiting for the peloton to catch him. That was going to happen until a big crash with 12km to go messed things up. A Soudal-Quickstep rider in second wheel behind Lidl-Trek looked back, touched wheels and fell. This caused a chain-reaction crash that spread through the peloton. Some riders ended up in the culvert on both sides of the road. But most of them got up and got back to work to catch Desal, which they did just inside 10km to go.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe led the peloton across the Broekstraat cobbles but then gave way to Lidl-Trek on the paved section of the run-in along the Schelde. Merlier was near the back of the remaining 40-rider peloton. But he smoothly moved up the right side under the 1km banner and got into sixth wheel behind Lidl-Trek for Theuns.
Philipsen started the sprint first, but Merlier was much faster and powered past to win his second Scheldeprijs victory in a row.
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