Philippe Gilbert was tipped as the hot favorite to take his third consecutive Tour of Lombardy this Saturday. But the Belgian had already hinted in the last few days that his long and successful season had taken its toll. In Lombardy he was still good enough for eighth place, but was unable to shine on his specialty, a short, steep climb near the finish.
Gilbert was dropped at the last rise, but came in with a second chase group for a top ten ranking in the race of the falling leaves. "On such a climb in the last kilometers the best riders automatically are near the front and everybody sits on the spot that they are worth," Gilbert told hln.be after the last big race of the season.
He made no excuses about his defeat. "I had a bit less power and I was not in as good a shape as some of my competitors," he said. "When Nibali accelerated on the Ghisallo it was apparent that I didn't have the superlegs anymore." Gilbert was clever enough to not waste energy. "When he had a good gap we decided to wait for the following chase group." That group was still around 40 riders strong and with combined efforts they reeled Nibali back in before the final climb.
Gilbert stated to adapt the same tactic as race winner Oliver Zaugg (Leopard Trek). "It was better to do the flat part in a larger group and then put it all on the final climb," he said.
He couldn't follow Zaugg of the first chase group in the end, but managed to jump into the second chase group. "After such a long and tiring season to still get a top ten is certainly not bad." Gilbert was satisfied, knowing he left it all out on the road once again. He is now looking forward to a break before preparing his move to the BMC team.
Gilbert won eighteen races this season. The highlight was the two weeks between April 13 and April 24. He warmed up with a win at the Brabantse Pijl, then continued it with taking the Ardennes Triple: the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche Wallonne, and Liège - Bastogne - Liège.
Gilbert also won both Belgian Championships (road race and time trial), the Clasica San Sebastian and the first stage in the Tour de France, which gave him the yellow jersey for a day. He also won the Montepaschi Strade Bianche.