A flat Belgian sprint race with almost no place to hide
Scheldeprijs Women
A Belgian sprint classic where the fastest finishers settle the score in Schoten, and where Lorena Wiebes has never lost.
Next edition Apr 7, 2027
- Location
- 🇧🇪 Belgium
- When
- Second Wednesday in April
- Course
- One Day
- Most recent winner
- 🇳🇱 Charlotte Kool (2026)
- Also known as
- Scheldeprijs Vrouwen Elite
- Category
- Women’s 1.Pro
About Scheldeprijs Women
Scheldeprijs Women is a one-day bike race, a sprint classic held each April in Belgium, part of the ProSeries calendar. The race finishes in Schoten and has established itself as one of the purest tests of pure speed in the women's spring calendar.
Also known as: Scheldeprijs Vrouwen Elite
Lorena Wiebes has won every edition she has started, making her unbeaten record the race's defining storyline.
This is where the fastest sprinters in women's cycling come to prove themselves on flat Belgian roads. The race has become synonymous with Lorena Wiebes, who maintains a perfect record here, but that dominance only sharpens the question each year: can anyone break through? It sits in the post-Flanders, pre-Ardennes window when the classics calendar shifts from cobbles to speed.
Scheldeprijs Women winners
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 🇳🇱Charlotte Kool |
| 2025 | 🇮🇹Elisa Balsamo |
| 2024 | 🇳🇱Lorena Wiebes |
| 2023 | 🇳🇱Lorena Wiebes |
| 2022 | 🇳🇱Lorena Wiebes |
| 2021 | 🇳🇱Lorena Wiebes |
2027 edition
Apr 7, 2027. The Scheldeprijs Women 2027 is on Wednesday, April 7, with start and finish in Schoten, Belgium. Charlotte Kool won the sprint on the Churchilllaan in 2026, after three second places in the race.
Scheldeprijs Women route
The parcours is built for sprinters, with flat roads through Flanders leading to the finish in Schoten. The challenge is not the terrain but the positioning battles in the final kilometers, where teams must deliver their sprinters through narrow roads and tight corners without losing the wheels that matter. Breakaways rarely survive, and the race typically comes down to which lead-out train can hold formation longest and which sprinter has the sharpest kick in the final 200 meters. Weather can disrupt the script, splitting the peloton before the finale, but the default expectation is a controlled buildup and a bunch sprint.
What shapes the race
Flat Sprint
One of the flattest races on the women calendar. The race is built for pure sprinters.
Leadout Battle
Team leadout trains control the finale. The winner is usually the rider with the best positioning and the fastest kick from 200m.
Scheldt River
The route follows the Scheldt river through Flanders, finishing in Schoten near Antwerp.
Signature landmarks
Scheldeprijs is defined less by climbs than by its flat roads and its run-in to Schoten.
- Finish
Schoten
The finish town north of Antwerp gives the race its fixed point, where lead-out trains try to stay intact into the last straight.
- Terrain
Antwerp province roads
Broad exposed roads, small roundabouts, and nervous positioning make this a classic Belgian sprint setup even without real climbs.
History
Memorable editions
- 2021
The women race arrives
Scheldeprijs Women launched with the same sprint-first identity as the men's race and immediately filled a gap on the spring calendar.
- 2025
Balsamo breaks the streak
Elisa Balsamo ended Lorena Wiebes' run of four straight victories, reminding everyone that even the cleanest sprint script can be broken.
Iconic victories
Lorena Wiebes
Four consecutive wins (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) made Wiebes the undisputed queen of the Scheldeprijs. No sprinter has dominated any single race more completely.
Elisa Balsamo
Broke the Wiebes streak in 2025, showing that the race can still produce surprise winners when the sprint goes wrong.
Eras and records
Lorena Wiebes owns this race with four consecutive victories before Balsamo broke the streak.
Most wins (women)
Lorena Wiebes, 4 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
First women edition
2021, making it one of the newest women races