Fumiyuki Beppu (RadioShack) in Deinze
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Hayden Roulston (HTC-Columbia) makes a fan's day as Gert Dockx looks pretty pleased to be in Belgium
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Hayden Roulston selects his weapon of choice
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Former pro Daniele Nardalo is not on the staff at Footon-Servetto
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) finished third at E3 Prijs Vlaanderen on Saturday
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Defending Champion Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky)
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Sky teammates Chris Sutton and Michael Barry prepare to head to the start
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Cyclingnews diarist Kenny van Hummel heads to the sign-on in Deinze
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) gets ready to go
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Last year's third place getter Matthew Goss will carry HTC-Columbia's hopes of back-to-back wins
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Omega Pharma-Lotto's riders were sporting some custom paint jobs for the Classics
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Euskaltel-Euskadi were the first team to arrive on Sunday morning
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Team Sky executive directeur sportif Scott Sunderland makes sure everything runs smoothly aboard the team bus at the start
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Euskaltel's fleet of Orbeas lined up and ready for their pilots
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
An HTC-Columbia mechanic makes some final adjustments to the riders' Scotts
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Cyclingnews diarist Kenny van Hummel chats before the start
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Liquigas' riders stay warm in their bus, perhaps thinking whether their performance can form the mural for next season's bus.
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
George Hincapie's rig sits front and centre outside the BMC bus
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
A list of priorities for Omega Pharma-Lotto?
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Peter Wrolich (Milram) on the start line
(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
The ProTour peloton decended on Deinze, Belgium on Sunday morning for the start of Gent-Wevelgem. Cyclingnews was on location to capture these images of the scene.
The first Belgian race of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) world calendar, the semi-Classic will see the riders make a 219km journey across Flanders and back into the centre of Wevelgem.
Last year, Edvald Boasson Hagen took victory for Columbia-Highroad, after he and Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas) escaped on the Kemmelberg. Twelve months on the race is a different beast, with 14 climbs added to the twin ascents of the Kemmel.
