> From March to October, the 2001 World Cup included the "Five Monuments" of cycling: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy. The five other Classics, all based in Europe, were the Amstel Gold Race, the Clasica San Sebastian, the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg, Paris-Tours and the GP of Zurich.

> On the final podium, Dekker finished ahead of Erik Zabel and Roman Vainsteins. After him, Paolo Bettini won the last three editions of the World Cup. The Italian closed the palmarès of a trophy launched by the UCI in 1989. The best Classics hunters of the era succeeded in winning the competition overall, notably Sean Kelly, Michele Bartoli, Johan Museeuw and Andrei Tchmil.

> Dekker says the withdrawal of the World Cup was "a shame." He remembers the special kit worn by the leader, with rainbow stripes, in a vertical position not to be confused with the horizontal stripes of the world champion. "It was a wonderful jersey and cycling is a sport of jerseys," Dekker noted.

Bring this shit BACK