As the year draws to a close, peloton takes a look at the major events of 2011 and their defining images. We begin with the monuments of cycling: Milano-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia, captured through the lens of Yuzuru Sunada.

To win a monument is to win one of the oldest, toughest, and most fabled single-day races on the calendar. This year saw Philippe Gilbert dominate the Ardennes classics while some less predictable names - Goss, Nuyens, Van Summeren, and Zaugg - found hard-earned glory on the cobbles of France and Belgium and in the hills of Italy.