[1] The Scheldeprijs particularly suited the sprinters as it included several cobbled roads but no significant climbs.

The winner in the previous three editions, Marcel Kittel (Team Giant–Alpecin) was forced to withdraw from the race due to illness; Mark Cavendish (Etixx–Quick-Step), who had also won the race on three occasions, chose not to participate, as did André Greipel (Lotto–Soudal).

The race favourite was therefore Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha), who had won the Tour of Flanders the previous weekend.

Other riders considered to have a chance of victory included Peter Sagan (Tinkoff–Saxo), Elia Viviani (Team Sky) and Romain Feillu (Bretagne–Séché Environnement).

[4] Kristoff was without teammates in the final part of the race, but he was able to follow the FDJ train to win the sprint finish from the small group that had avoided the crash.