Preview: Boonen, Cancellara are five-star Flanders favorites
- By Neal Rogers
- Published Mar. 29, 2012
- Updated Mar. 30, 2012 at 12:47 AM EDT
Race Notes
Weather forecast: Cloudy, with a high of 49 degrees Fahrenheit and a 20-percent chain of precipitation.
Television: For the first time in the U.S., the final two hours of the race will be televised live, on NBC Sports Network.
Women’s race: As part of the women’s UCI World Cup, a women’s Tour of Flanders has been held every year since 2004 on the same day as the men’s race. The 127km women’s race starts and finishes in Oudenaarde and includes nine climbs, with the Kwaremont, Paterberg and Hoogberg all in the final 30km. North American trade teams Specialized-lululemon and Tibco-To the Top are fielding squads, as well as national teams from the United States and Canada.
Pre-race favorites include Marianne Vos (Stichting Rabo Women), Nicole Cooke (Faren Honda), Ina Teutenberg (Specialized-lululemon), Lizzie Armitstead (AA Drink-Leontien.nl), Kristin Armstrong (U.S. National), Judith Arndt (GreenEdge) and Belgian national champion Evelyn Arys (Kleo).
Preliminary Startlist >>
Course Map and Profile >>
Previous Winners >>
Record-setting American: If he crosses the finish line in Oudenaarde on Sunday, American George Hincapie will claim the record of most finishes at the Tour of Flanders, with 17. The BMC Racing rider is currently tied at 16 finishes with Belgian rider Briek Schotte.
Belgium-based photojournalist Jered Gruber contributed to this race preview.
FILED UNDER: News
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.