Hello and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of the Tour of Flanders

Boom goes on the attack again, and rides up to the wheel of Edvald Boassen Hagen, who is yo-yo-ing in between the lead group and the peloton. Chavanel looks by far the most comfortable of this lead group over the cobbles. The three others are all over the place.

The grimace on the faces of two-time winner Boonen and world champion Thor Hushovd tells you just how high the pace is, and that the vast majority of these riders are approaching their absolute limit. Now Lars Boom tries a big dig on the front of the peloton, but can't get clear, and eventually he sits up again. Chavanel and Clarke now have an advantage of 22 seconds.

Chavanel and Clarke now hit the Steenwettdries with 19" lead over the chasing pack, from which Boonen has gained a few metres along with three other riders, one of whom looks very much like Lars Boom, though I can't be sure it's him. The other favourites turn immediately to Cancellara, who doesn't panic, and eventually the main group reel them back in.

The peloton has been split in two on the Paterberg! The big names (Cancellara, Pozzato, Boonen and Gilbert, Boom, Ballan) are all in the first group of around 20 or so riders. Meanwhile, Chavanel (Quickstep) and Simon Clarke (Astana) have caught and passed the breakaway on the Koppenberg!

Our leaders crest the Paterberg, a real nasty climb which ramps up to a massive 24% at times!!! Philippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen are at the head of the peloton now, along with Tyler Farrar! The gap is down to just 10 seconds now, and the breakaway will soon be caught.

Hunt and Van Dijk have now been dropped ont he Oude Kwaremont. Turgot, Docker and Hammond are now out front on their own as Sylvain Chavanel goes on the attack from the peloton!!

The pace on the Kruisberg sees a few riders drop off the back of the pack. Posthuma and Delage aer both dropped. Meanwhile, Sep Vanmarcke and John Degenkolb are also left behind, but these two just have punctures. The gap out to the leaders is now 2'00". It had dropped to 1'30", but the narrow roads have slowed the chasing pack, as Dan Lloyd takes a fall on the very front.

FILLIPO POZZATO: Sixth here in 2008 and fifth in 2009, Pozzato must be considered one of the foremost contenders for victory here, even if he hasn't looked quite the same rider over the past season and a half with Katusha. After victories at Tirreno-Adriatico, a Tour de France stage and a win at Milan San-Remo early on in his career , the Italian has flattered to deceive a little, and has even been accused of negative tactics at times, though discount him at your peril.

Marcus Burghardt and Davide Malacarne both get caught out by the pavement and hit the deck hard! Burghardt is back on his bike quickle, but Malacarne looks like his race may well be over. He seems in a fair bit of pain.

THOR HUSHOVD: Yet another member of the Garmin-Cervelo team capable of winning here. The reigning world champion has two podium finishes at Paris-Roubaix to his name, and is one of the few sprinters who doesn't mind the hills. Much will depend on how Garmin's plethora of stars work together, as if Cancellara goes clear, all eyes will be on them to lead the chase.

The 20 counter-attackers have now ben caught, and the pace then drops slightly in the peloton, though it's still been a pretty high-paced race right since the start.

Cancellara's Trek-Leopard team move to the front of the peloton now to take up the chase on the pursuers. The lead quintet are now just 3'00" ahead.

Those 20 chasers are: Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo), Steegmans (Quickstep), Boasson Hagen (Sky), Bernhard Eisel (HTC), Gusev (Katusha), Kroon (BMC), Tjallingii (Rabobank), Selvaggi and Borut Bozic (both Vacansoleil), Lodewijck, Greipel (both Omega-Pharma Lotto), Mirco Lorenzetto (Astana), Steven Van Vooren (Topsport Vlaanderen), Mathieu Ladagnous (FDJ), Koen De Kort (Skil-Shimano), Luca Paolini (Katusha), Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r), Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) and Matthew Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo).

Hunt, Hammond, Turgot, Van Dijk and Docker are now on the Rekelberg, and the activity behind has seen their lead cut to just five minutes.

Mark Cavendish of all people has now moved to the front of the peloton to try to close the gap, which is now at around 100 metres. The pace is still pretty high, as it has been for much of this race.

Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) goes on the attack from the peloton, and immediately the tension rises. Steegmans (RadioShack) looks to go with him! Now more riders, maybe 15 or so, look to join, including Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil), Karsten Kroon (BMC), and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky).

Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen) crashes in the peloton, and takes down Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Liquigas) and Michal Kwiatkowski (RadioShack) with him. All three are able to resume though.

HEINRICH HAUSSLER: He used to be German, he's now Australian, but either way, he's a big talent. Haussler famously came within a hair's breadth of winning Milan-San Remo back two years ago, and has developed well since then. He was second behind Devolder in this race in 2009 too, and has shown good early season form by winning the points classification at Paris Nice, finishing second in the Tour of Qatar, and seventh at the E3 Prijs last weekend.

ALESSANDRO BALLAN: The curse of the world champion's jersey certainly hit the amiable Italian after his wonderful win in Varese back in 2008. Two years of injuries and poor form followed, but his early season form this year suggests he is ready to challenge for honours once again. "I was second on the Strade Bianche and fourth in San Remo. I'm back," he warned. He knows what it takes to win here, as he did just that back in 2007, and will have the support of a strong BMC squad.

The lead quintet hit the feed zone with 8'00" advantage. The crowd are already several rows deep here, so goodness knows what it will be like on the Bosberg!

STIJN DEVOLDER: "I don't have the talent of a Tom Boonen or Philippe Gilbert. I'm a hard-working man who's found the means to make up his own small palmarès," was the Vacansoleil man's very modest assessment of his own career. While his role as a secret weapon in the Quickstep team behind Boonen certainly helped him in his two wins here in 2008 and 2009, he remains a danger, though he will have to outwit the field again if he's to make it a hat-trick of wins, as he's unlikely to outpower them.