Tour of Flanders 2012

Picture the crowd gathering in Geraadsbergen on a cool April Sunday afternoon. The road is already closed and the they line up behind the barriers to trudge up the cobbled climb of the Muur.

The spots at the top by the church will have long since been taken by the eager Belgian fans topped up with coach loads of British and American fans who want a slice of the spring classics atmosphere.

After patiently waiting the sound of an appraoching TVE helicopter indicates that the the Tour of Flanders will soon be racing up the high street before hitting the cobbles and heading over the berg.

Children are hoisted on their parents shoulders. The Quick Step casquette on a little boys head reminds the fans around him that this is reformed veteran Tom Boonen's probable last chance of winning this 'monument' of the sport.

There is a breakway according to a radio blaring from a nearby bar. One Team Sky rider is in it.

And it is then that they arrive in a blur of colour and speed.

Edvald Boasson-Hagen of Sky and home rider Thomas De Gendt. Two giants of the sport and the best classic riders of their generation.

But wait... Haven't we seen these two riders somewhere before?

2009 was the year. The Tour of Britain was the race. Two truly world class riders came to the fore, cutting their teeth in the windy cold roads of the United Kingdom.

Pipe dream? or possibility?