2012 Tour of Flanders
| 2012 UCI World Tour, race 8 of 28 | |||||||||||||
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Tom Boonen and Filippo Pozzato on the third climb of Oude Kwaremont
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| Race details | |||||||||||||
| Dates | 1 April 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 256.9 km (159.6 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 6h 04' 33" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
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| Winner |
 Tom Boonen (BEL)
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(Omega Pharma–Quick-Step) | |
| Second |
 Filippo Pozzato (ITA)
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(Farnese Vini–Selle Italia) | |
| Third |
Alessandro Ballan (ITA)
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(BMC Racing Team) |
The 2012 Tour of Flanders was the 96th edition of the Tour of Flanders single-day "Monument" cycling race. It was held on 1 April 2012 over a distance of 256.9 kilometres (159.6 mi) – between Brugge and Oudenaarde – and was the eighth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season.
In a three-man sprint finish, the race was won by Omega Pharma–Quick-Step Belgian Tom Boonen, who in the process, became the fifth different rider to win the race three times, and took the lead of the overall World Tour standings. Boonen finished ahead of Farnese Vini–Selle Italia's Filippo Pozzato and 2007 winner Alessandro Ballan of BMC Racing Team, who completed the podium.
The course of the classic was changed drastically. The finish was changed from Meerbeke to Oudenaarde due to the result of a changed parcours to the race. Famous hills like the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg were the final two hills in almost every edition from 1975 but were removed from the course. The new final featured the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, both were climbed three times. Also included in the final were the infamous Koppenberg – climbed after the first passage of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg – as well as the Steenbeekdries and the Kluisberg.
2010 winner Fabian Cancellara stated in the Belgium TV show De Laatste Show that he liked the new route of the race. He said that he disliked the dead moment from Tenbosse until the Muur in the old route and also the flat kilometres after the Bosberg until the finish. While Cancellara liked the new route, some riders expressed negative feelings about the new route. Two-time winner Stijn Devolder stated that: "This is no longer the Ronde van Vlaanderen". Former Belgian cyclist and three-time winner Johan Museeuw stated that the course was potentially made too hard: "Three times up the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg can blow you away. The course didn't really need to be made harder, I think."
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