Alexander Kristoff broke away late on to grab a second Scheldeprijs victory, seven years after his first

Alexander Kristoff (Intermarche-Wanty Gobert) grabbed a stunning victory in Scheldeprijs, riding his luck through the crosswinds early on and then launching an audacious late lone break to cross the line well clear of the chasing pack.

Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) out-sprinted Sam Welsford (Team DSM) to grab second, but no one had the pace to catch the Norwegian on a wet and windy day.

The 110th edition of the men’s Scheldeprijs began after the women’s edition, Terneuzen the location for the roll out. And it didn’t take long for the action to start, the peloton hitting the exposed Zeeland province where cross winds immediately wreaked havoc on the field.

Echelons formed just 20km into the 199km race, and the make-up of the front group was such that it seemed those cross winds could be decisive, with the peloton split in two and big names stuck in both halves.

Kristoff managed to get into the front group for Intermarche-Wanty Gobert, while Alpecin-Fenix had Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier up front. BORA-Hansgrohe had Sam Bennett, van Poppel, Jordi Meeus and Ryan Mullen – with Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl the big team to miss out, along with Armaud De Lie of Lotto-Soudal.

Quick-Step led the chase but the front group of 14 - Gerben Thijssen (Intermarche-Wanty Gobert) having crashed and dropped back – had enough talent that the decision was made quickly to push on and hope they could take their lead group all the way to the finish line, bucking the trend for bunch sprints.

The chasing group was soon whittled down in number with Quick-Step setting a brutal pace, the gap to the front pack coming down to the 36 second mark. But by the time Lotto-Soudal started to help, Quick-Step had plenty of weary legs and the brief impasse as the chasers organised themselves let the leaders extend their advantage back up to 45 seconds.

Bennett had made that lead group but with 51km to go and drizzle falling, the Irishman started to look uncomfortable. He wasn’t the first to drop backwards though, Soren Wærenskjold peeling off and coasting as the leaders crossed the finish line to begin the first of three laps around Schoten.

But surprisingly, with the clock ticking, the chasing pack crossed the line over a minute back, the first time the advantage had stretched out that far. And the heart seemed to have gone out of many of the chasers, as the leaders began to organise themselves for what seemed a 13-man fight to the finish.

Bora-Hansgrohe seemed best placed with four riders in the lead group – although Bennett was still looking like he was short of his best form. Discussions were ongoing as the riders refuelled, holding that lead steady at just over a minute as they finished the first lap.

With 25km the chasing group sat up, as the leaders hit the penultimate cobbled track. The games hadn’t started yet, survival over the slick pebbles the aim with the rain continuing to fall. But once on smooth tarmac, the cat and mouse began...

Kristoff positioned himself towards the front as the bell rang for the final lap, defending champion Philipsen also moving towards the sharp end. Bora-Hansgrohe weren’t biting with 12km to go, with van Poppel and Bennett both down the back. The Dutch rider was at least on the last wheel, but Bennett was consistently letting gaps form every time the pace increased.

Van Uden (Team DSM) made the first significant break, gapping the group as Bennett found himself finally dropped just shy of the final turn over the cobbles. The rest reeled van Uden in, Philipsen deciding to set the pace as his team mate Merlier also moved forward in support.

Kristoff, easy to spot in fluorescent yellow then tried a move, the big Norwegian riding clear, mouth agape as he sucked in air. But the chasers were too busy arguing, trying to conserve what energy they had left in their legs and let him escape as they split into two separate groups.

Head down, Kristoff was motoring and with 5km to go, van Uden was the first to realise the danger and mount a chase. But the Norwegian had a 20 second advantage and didn’t have to think about anything other than the finish.

Wet conditions weren’t going to derail the Intermarche rider, as the rain dripped off his nose in what can only be called less than ideal conditions. But he only had eyes for the finish line, which duly arrived for the Norwegian, arms aloft as he took the victory here for the second time in his career.

"I just wanted to try and see if I could get away and nobody followed. I felt good all day, and it’s nice to come in solo. It’s a special one," he said afterwards. "I’m normally a bit of a slow starter but today I was ready from the start!"

That might have ended the fight for the results but there was still time for some late drama, as Merlier decided to ride back down the course on his own while the chasing groups were still coming in. Realising his mistake, He quickly through his bike over the barriers and had just enough energy left to hop over himself as the minor places were decided, but it remains to be seen if the commissaires will have anything to say about that.