Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara begins his quest to make history this weekend as he seeks a second-successive Tour of Flanders (April 3) victory.
Cancellara, who dominated last weekend's E3 Prijs Vlaanderen in nearby Harelbeke, is aiming to become the first rider to do the Flanders and Paris-Roubaix double twice.
Recent Ghent-Wevelgem victor Tom Boonen (Quick Step) will not only want to avenge his defeat to the Leopard-Trek rider here twelve months ago, but also give himself a chance of winning the historic double.
Boonen won both races in 2005, and would have made history a year later if it wasn't for Cancellara's dominance on the cobbles of northern Europe.
Tour of Flanders 2011: The route
For the second year running, the Ronde will feature a modified route, but organisers insist that the main ingredients of the race - along with its character - remain unchanged.
Having departed from its traditional start in Brugge, riders will head inland to Kortrijk instead of riding towards the coast.
The race is flat for the opening 70km, before the first of the 18 climbs are tackled.
The Kaperij (climb four) is new, while the Kruisberg - the second-most featured climb in the 95 editions of the race - has been reinstated for 2011. A new cobbled section is passed just before the Molenberg, and the Berendries is being repaired, so is skipped in favour of the Valkenberg.
No changes have been made to the finish, with the Tenbosse, Muur and the Bosberg all likely to be the scene of some explosive racing.
The Climbs
Start: Brugge 0km
1. Tiegemberg 70km
2. Nokereberg 80km
3. Rekelberg 127km
4. Kaperij 139km
5. Kruisberg 154km
6. Knokteberg 164km
7. Oude Kwaremont 171km
8. Paterberg 175km
9. Koppenberg 181km
10. Steenbeekdries 187km
11. Taaienberg 190km
12. Eikenberg 194km
13. Molenberg 209km
14. Leberg 216km
15. Valkenberg 225km
16. Tenbosse 232km
17. Muur-Kapelmuur 242km
18. Bosberg 246km
Finish: Meerbeke 256km
Tour of Flanders 2011: The teams
Ag2r La Mondiale
Astana
BMC
Cofidis
Europcar
Euskaltel-Euskadi
FDJ
Garmin-Cervelo
HTC-Highroad
Katusha
Lampre-ISD
Landbouwkrediet
Leopard-Trek
Liquigas-Cannondale
Movistar
Omega Pharma-Lotto
Quick Step
Rabobank
Radioshack
Saxo Bank-Sungard
Skil-Shimano
Sky
Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
Vacansoleil-DCM
Veranda's Willems-Accent
Tour of Flanders 2011: British riders
Roger Hammond (Garmin-Cervelo)
David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo)
Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad)
Jeremy Hunt (Sky)
Ian Stannard (Sky)
Geraint Thomas (Sky)
Tour of Flanders 2011: TV schedule
British Eurosport
April 3, 11:15 - 16:15 Tour of Flanders LIVE
April 3, 23:15 - 00:15 Tour of Flanders highlights
April 4, 07:45 - 09:00 Tour of Flanders highlights
Eurosport HD
April 3, 11:30 - 16:00 Tour of Flanders LIVE
April 4, 07:45 - 09:00 Tour of Flanders highlights
Tour of Flanders 2010: Results
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Saxo Bank in 6-25-56
2. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step at 1-15
3. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 2-11
4. Bjorn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil at 2-15
5. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Transitions at 2-35
6. George Hincapie (USA) BMC
7. Roger Hammond (GBr) Cervelo Test Team
8. Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
9. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre- Farnese Vini
10. William Bonnet (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom all at st.
CW said: "Rarely does an event live up to the pre-race hype so completely... Cancellara became only the tenth rider in the history of cycling to win Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix."
Tour of Flanders 2011: Recent winners
2010 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Saxo Bank
2009 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step
2008 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step
2007 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre
2006 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
2005 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
2004 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) T-Mobile
2003 Peter van Petegem (Bel) Lotto
2002 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei
2001 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Vini Caldirola
* Cycle Sport magazine this month takes a look at Jacky Durand's famous victory in the 1992 Tour of Flanders, along with previewing all the spring classics, and is on sale in the UK for the irrationally reasonable price of £4.25.
Related links
Team cars open door to TV for Flanders
Video: Riding the Muur van Geraardsbergen
Can anyone beat Cancellara? Public opinion says no
Tour of Flanders 2011: Who will win?
Cancellara and Boonen are bookies' favourites for Flanders
Spring Classics 2011: coverage index
Thomas returns to the Northern Classics
Reader comments
Add your comments
Adrian Brown
March 29 20:14
I'll be heading to Belgium this weekend. The route lends itself to being able to see the race at three different locations, if you have a car because the route overlaps. Which climb is the best to see the race?
Andy Jones
April 01 11:08
Adrian, there are a good number of the climbs which are good to see, Oude Kwaremont 171km, Paterberg 175km, Koppenberg 181km, Molenberg 209km and the Muur-Kapelmuur 242km. From experience you can see the start, Kwaremont and then the Muur-Kapelmuur out of Geraardsbergen without too much stress. If you had to pick one climb to see it would be the Muur-Kapelmuur as that's where the race explodes. If a rider is over there first with a reasonable gap they are in with a good shout of taking a Flanders win. The run in from the top of the Kapelmuur to the finish is pretty fast and the final shallow cobbled climb of the Bosberg is in comparison to what has come before a fairly straight forward obstacle - though I suppose with 246kms in the legs it still has the effect of sapping strength from legs and mind. So, yes the Muur gets it. Parking is not always easy. There's always a big crowd up on the hill. Probably your best point for a 'ring side' vantage point is up on the Kapelmuur, the second part of the climb just below the chapel. Once the riders have passed you can find a TV screen, usually in a nearby camper van window, to see the race finish in Ninove. Good Luck and enjoy your Ronde van Vlaanderen experience.