SCHOTEN, Belgium — Marcel Kittel of Germany beat Mark Cavendish by less than a wheel in a sprint finish Wednesday to win the Schelde Prize for the second year in a row.
In the traditional sprinters’ race, Cavendish left his final push too late and missed his fourth victory in the classic when he could not match Kittel’s lunge to the line.
The 204-kilometre (127-mile) race was held along the flat lands around the port city of Antwerp, with an incessant chilling wind the toughest opposition for the cyclists. Ronde of Flanders winner Fabian Cancellara crashed early on, hitting his thigh and knee, but continued race to show he is ready for Sunday’s WorldTour cobblestone classic Paris-Roubaix.