The 85th edition of the Tour of Flanders cycling classic in Belgium took place on 8 April 2001.

[1] The race started on the Market Square in Bruges and finished in Meerbeke, covering 269 km.

[2] There were sixteen categorized climbs: Cycling News remarked that Bortolami won the race by outfoxing the favorites: Tacconi-Sport's Gianluca Bortolami has won the 85th Ronde van Vlaanderen, beating Erik Dekker (Rabobank) and Denis Zanette (Liquigas) in an eight man sprint.

The former World Cup winner rode an intelligent race, saving everything for the finale while the stronger riders wore each other out.

He also profited from the lack of co-operation between the favourites (Tchmil, Museeuw, Bartoli, Vainsteins etc.