Dwars door Vlaanderen / A travers la Flandre 2011

2011 Dwars door Vlaanderen

The Spring Classics on the cobbles of Belgium and northern France begin in earnest this week, with the Dwars door Vlaanderen race kicking off a month of exciting one-day racing that also includes the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

2010 winner Matti Breschel is not riding due to his knee problems but the start list includes big-name sprinters Tom Boonen (QuickStep), Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo), plus classics specialists Stijn Devolder (Vacansoleil), Sylvain Chavanel (QuickStep), Filippo Pozzato (Katusha), Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank-SunGard), Juan Antonio Flecha (Team Sky), Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) and Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek).

The 201km race includes nine sections of pave and 12 ‘hellingen’ –the steep Belgian climbs that also characterise the Tour of Flanders.