'I thought I had nothing left' - Merlier surprises himself with comeback Scheldeprijs win

Tim Merlier is back doing Tim Merlier things. The Belgian has endured a difficult to this point, with a knee injury delaying the start of his season. He lined up at Scheldeprijs on Wednesday with just one race day in his legs, at last month’s GP Monseré, and plenty of doubts.

In Schoten, however, Merlier showed no sign of rustiness, as he found his way to the front of the peloton in the finishing straight before delivering a devastating sprint to claim his third consecutive Scheldeprijs victory.

“It definitely feels really good after the problems this winter, and in the last month also,” Merlier said. “This one feels really good. You start the race with questions and then in the race I felt I was not on my best day, maybe because it was the first heat [of the year], I don’t know.”

While the bright sunshine, high temperatures and still conditions made this a relatively novel edition of Scheldeprijs, there were some familiar occupational hazards in play. On the final lap of the finishing circuit, the peloton was split by a crash that ended the chances of Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets). 

Merlier just about managed to side-step that carnage thanks to his cyclocross skills, but he still had plenty of work to do to get himself back into position ahead of the sprint. As the kilometres ticked down towards Schoten, he assumed his would be a forlorn effort. 

“I thought I had nothing left anymore, I thought I didn’t have the explosion anymore,” Merlier said. 

Muscle memory, however, is a funny thing. Beneath the flamme rouge, Merlier found himself back within sight of the head of the race, and as the sprint unfolded, he manoeuvred himself into position, tacking onto the wheel of Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) before kicking for home with 250 metres to go.

“Once I was in the last kilometre, I said to myself, ‘You are in the perfect position,” Merlier said. “One moment, I thought I was boxed in, but I found some space again, and I said, ‘I’m going to launch the sprint.’

“I think I went from 250 metres like I wanted to do. I wanted to give it a try and just do my best. I launched and then I thought, ‘I don’t think they’re going to pass…’

“I launched from far out, as I like. It was a bit of headwind but I know once I’m at top speed it’s difficult to pass me and even without the best shape, it’s possible to win.”