World champion and Tour de Wallonie winner head to Spanish Classic with confidence
Philippe Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet will be joint leaders of the BMC Racing Team in Saturday’s Clásica San Sebastián, the first big race to follow the Tour de France. The two Belgian riders are hitting the race with confidence, despite both enjoying different fortunes recently.
"This is our first big objective after the Tour de France and with Phil and Greg we have two good opportunities to go for a good result," said directeur sportif Yvon Ledanois. "All the other guys around them are going well, too."
World champion Gilbert was part of BMC Racing’s Tour de France squad, whose performance was arguably the most disappointing from any team in the race. The 31-year-old won in San Sebastián in 2011, however, as part of his unstoppable season, and so is looking forward to Saturday.
"On Monday, I was like a zombie all day," he said, "but now I am feeling recovered. As a past winner of this race, it's important for me to give my best and hopefully we can get a win and a maximum number of UCI points for the team."
Of the Tour de France team, Marcus Berghardt, Amaël Moinard and Steve Morabito - who was the team’s highest finisher, in 35th place - will also be lining up in Spain.
Van Avermaet was third to Gilbert in that 2011 race, when they were riding for different teams, and comes into the 2013 race on a high after his overall victory in the Tour de Wallonie, where he also won two stages.
"I always try to be going well at San Sebastian because it's a good race for me," he said. "For sure, this week has boosted my confidence."
Also in la Clásica from Van Avermaet’s Tour de Wallonie team will be Yannick Eijssen, Sebastian Lander, while the eighth place will be filled by Danilo Wyss, who returns to the peloton after riding the Österreich-Rundfahrt at the beginning of the month.
BMC Racing Team for the Clásica San Sebastián
Marcus Burghardt, Yannick Eijssen, Philippe Gilbert, Sebastian Lander, Amaël Moinard, Steve Morabito, Greg Van Avermaet, Danilo Wyss