Gallery: Images from the Northern Classics

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The northern classics came to a spectacular finish on Sunday with Johan Van Summeren's gutsy victory in Roubaix. The Belgian's win capped one of the most unpredictable classics seasons in recent memory. It's easy to forget about the races earlier in the season, like CJ Sutton's win at Kuurne Brussel-Kuurne, or Fabian ‘Spartacus' Cancellara's powerful display finishing alone at E3 Prijs Vlaanderen.

Fortunately, we've put together a gallery of some of the best moments captured on film during the 2011 cobbled racing season; we've tried to capture the highs – and the lows.

Het Nieuwsblad celebrated the victory of an unsung rider in Sebastien Langeveld, who pipped Juan Antonio Flecha to the line in a rain-affected sprint.

E3 was threatened by strikes over race radios, but will be remembered for a strong, early season performance from Cancellara.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne was won by Chris Sutton but he was only given the chance to sprint when the Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen felt ill late in the race.

Tom Boonen was not going to leave the classics season empty-handed with a lunge for the line at Gent-Wevelgem, and who could forget the strength on show at Flanders? Philippe Gilbert, Sylvain Chavanel, Nick Nuyens and that man again, Cancellara lit up one of the most explosive editions of the Ronde.

Scheldeprijs offered a final chance for sprinters looking to open their spring account, and Mark Cavendish took it decisively in a crash marred finish.

The hell of the north offered a fitting finale to the season, as super-domestique Johan Van Summeren rode to the biggest win of his career in the velodrome at Roubaix and capped it off by proposing to his long-term girlfriend.