Third straight victory would put Belgian champion up there with the Italian greats, but is feeling the fatigue of a long season
Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) will start tomorrow’s il Lombardia with the aim of taking a third straight victory in the race of the falling leaves. The feat, should the Belgian champion achieve it, would put Gilbert up there with Italian legend Alfredo Binda – who won three straight editions of the race between 1925 and 1927 – and put him in sight of the four straight win record of Fausto Coppi, il Campionissimo himself.
A third victory would still leave Gilbert one short of Binda’s total of four, and Coppi’s outright record of five, but would put him level with Damiano Cunego. It would also lift him clear of fellow Belgians Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck, and make him only the third non-Italian to win three editions, after Frenchman Henri Pélissier and Irishman Sean Kelly.
Both of Gilbert’s victories came as the race finished on the lakefront of Como, with the climb of San Fermo della Battaglia to break the peloton up on the way to the finish. The 2011 route has been changed, with the new finish in Lecco coming after the bigger climb to Villa Vergano; this suits Gilbert’s characteristics just as well, although it is not the course that stands in his way, but the fatigue of a long, winning season.
Gilbert started winning in February, at the Volta ao Algarve, then took the Montepaschi Strade Bianche and a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in March. April saw his incredible Ardennes ‘quadruple’ of Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which was followed by victory in the Tour of Belgium and Ster ZLM Toer in May and June.
Following his victory in the Belgian championships, he rode his first Tour de France since he left the FDJ team in 2008; promptly winning the first stage, despite everybody knowing exactly what he was intending. He came close to taking several other stages, and pushed Mark Cavendish close in the race for the green jersey.
Victory in the Clásica San Sebastian followed the Tour, then second place overall in the Eneco Tour. The wins kept coming through August and September, with his national time trial championships, the GP de Québec and GP de Wallonie.
Knowing he was not on for victory in the Gran Piemonte on Thursday though, Gilbert abandoned a race for the first time this season, according to Sporza; feeling the need to preserve as much energy as possible for Saturday’s race.
“Once the group of thirty had gone it was a lost cause,” he told the Belgian newspapers Het Nieuwsblad and Het Laatste Nieuws. “We were very quickly behind by seven minutes, and then it’s ridiculous to continue the race.
“At this stage the Tour is taking its revenge,” he explained. “I’ve mostly ridden one-day races since and I’ve started to notice. And I feel a difference with the men who have come from the Vuelta; [Vincenzo] Nibali, [Greg] Van Avermaet, [Daniel] Moreno, they all have extra freshness in their legs.”
While he is certainly feeling the fatigue of such a long season, Gilbert know that he is not the only one.
“Everyone is tired after a long season,” he conceded, “and Saturday will be a different race to Piemonte. The race will automatically improve over the mountain passes. I think I have a chance and I will certainly put my mind to it. On Friday [today] I’ll explore the new parcours and then we will see.”
Win or lose on Saturday, Gilbert will win the season-long International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour by a huge margin, reflecting his dominance over everything but the overall classifications of the Grand Tours.