Scenes from the start of the Tour of Flanders

By Neal Rogers
Published Apr. 3, 2011

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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Boonen heads to the line.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Tom Boonen. He's ready to roll.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Cancellara meets the press before the start.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Defending champion Fabian Cancellara

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Philippe Gilbert shows off his radio ... legal in this event.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Philippe Gilbert rolls to the line

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Philippe Gilbert has to be considered a favorite

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Andre Greipel

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Garmin's Heinrich Haussler

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
George Hincapie

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Leif Hoste and Stijn Devolder have both suffered bad crashes in recent days.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
American Ted King

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Have mercy Fabian

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Johan Museeuw is a spokesman for the Tour of Flanders.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
A polka band entertained the large crowd.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Filippo Pozzato

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Liquigas' Peter Sagan

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Bruges' belfry tower in the market square is the backdrop for the sign-in stage.

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
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Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders
French champion Thomas Voeckler

Scenes from the start of the 2011 Tour of Flanders

FILED UNDER: Gallery / Road TAGS: Gallery / Tour of Flanders

Neal Rogers

An interest in all things rock 'n' roll led Neal into music journalism while attending UC Santa Cruz. After several post-grad years spent waiting tables, surfing and mountain biking, Neal moved to San Francisco, working stints as a bike messenger and at a software start-up. He moved to Colorado in 2001, taking an editorial internship at VeloNews. He never left, and is now Velo's editor in chief. When not traveling the world covering races, Neal can be found riding his bike, skiing, cooking, or attending a concert. Follow him on Twitter at @nealrogers.