After a painful loss to Tadej Pogachar in the Tour of Flanders, Mathieu van der Poel has decided to add the midweek Scheldeprij (Wednesday, April 5) to his program.

Van der Poel, who has focused on the spring Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix since beginning his foray into WorldTour road racing in 2019, will make his debut in Wednesday's race.

"It's always good to race in my home town," van der Poel said in a team press release.

"It will be good to increase my race rhythm for Paris-Roubaix, and besides, I'm looking forward to helping leader Jasper Philipsen in the sprint, as I did twice in Tirreno."

Philipsen won the 2021 Scheldeprij in a group sprint over Sam Bennett and Mark Cavendish from a group that formed in a crosswind of only 55km.

Although the Scheldeprij is considered a classic sprinter's race, it is not as simple as it once was. Starting in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, the race heads north through the Western Scheldtunnel and then east toward Hoogerheide, where Van der Pol won the UCI cyclocross world championship title in February.

While there are none of the cobbled climbs that characterize the Flemish classics, the peloton is often exposed to crosswinds that can shatter the peloton.

Last year, Alexander Kristoff attacked on the last of the three cobbled sections, the Schouten, and rode solo to victory.