These are the results for the 2005 edition of the Tour of Flanders

Tour of Flanders

The Tour of Flanders is a Flanders Classics road cycling race held in Belgium every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders...

 cycling classic, which saw the emergence of Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...

 in the Flemish classics. This edition was run under clear skies and good weather.

Even past the feared Muur van Geraardsbergen

Muur van Geraardsbergen

The Muur van Geraardsbergen is a steep narrow road with cobblestones located in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. It is also known as Kapelmuur, Muur-Kapelmuur or simply Muur. The hill starts near the river Dender at 18 m and reaches the top of the Oudenberg at 110 m...

 there were still a handful of riders in the front group: favorites Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...

 (Quick Step-Innergetic) and Peter Van Petegem

Peter van Petegem

Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season...

 (Davitamon-Lotto), Erik Zabel

Erik Zabel

Erik Zabel is a former German professional road bicycle racer who last raced with Milram. With over 200 professional wins he is considered by some one of the greatest German cyclists and best cycling sprinters of history...

 and Andreas Klier

Andreas Klier

Andreas Klier is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam .-Palmares:1996200220032005-External links:...

 (T-Mobile), Roberto Petito

Roberto Petito

Roberto Petito , is an Italian road bicycle racer.Petito was born in Civitavecchia. His most important win came in 1997, when he won the Tirreno–Adriatico. He has also finished in the top five in classics such as the Ronde van Vlaanderen or Paris–Roubaix, as well as the overall in the 2006...

 (Fassa Bortolo), and Alessandro Ballan

Alessandro Ballan

Alessandro Ballan is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team , and is a former world champion. Although he possesses a frame that is usually more associated with climbing, Ballan has established himself as a leading spring classics contender in recent years...

 (Lampre). Klier set the tempo to keep the group together for a final sprint, hoping for Zabel to win.

Given Boonen's reputation as a sprinter

Cycling sprinter

A cycling sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.-The road sprinter:...

, he surprised his adversaries by launching a solo attack in the run-in to the finish to counter van Petegem's attack, after the Bosberg climb. Despite being chased by the two T-Mobile riders, he managed to take a solo win to Meerbeke

Meerbeke

Meerbeke is a village in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Ninove. This rural community is located along the Dender River on the western border of what is known as "Pajottenland". With a total surface of 1047ha it is the...

.

General Standings

3 April 2005, Brugge-Meerbeke, 256 km.:

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			6h 22' 00"
2			+ 35"
3			+ 40"
4			+ 40"
5		Fassa Bortolo	+ 40"
6			+ 40"
7			+ 1' 42"
8			+ 1' 42"
9			+ 1' 42"
10			+ 1' 42"

External links

• Race website