 Cancellara was noticeably still recovering from his Milan – San Remo effort at Dwars door Vlaanderen , where he tried to attack for victory in the finale , but faded quickly and finished only 36th . The squad 's best @-@ placed rider was Posthuma in 31st . Cancellara 's recovery was perhaps complete at the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke . After a series of mechanical incidents , resulting in several wheel changes and then a whole bike change , Cancellara sped past the trailing peloton on the Oude Kwaremont climb and effortlessly bridged to the front of the race . Once there , he left even the front group on the road well behind him , winning the race by a full minute over second placed Vladimir Gusev . Cancellara said he was more impressed with this victory than when he won the same race in 2010 , and analysis of his win suggested he stood as the odds @-@ on favorite for the Tour of Flanders . Jonathan Vaughters , whose Garmin – Cervélo team had effectively controlled the front of the race but were powerless to stop Cancellara , stated that should an on @-@ form Cancellara ever get even five seconds ' advantage at the front of a race near the end , he would likely not be seen again . Vaughters joked that rival teams would need a sniper to stop the Swiss classics specialist . 
