It was no surprise when Philippe Gilbert rocketed out of the field on the penultimate climb of today's Elite World Championships road race. The 28 year old Walloon had made his intentions clear, and he followed through with tremendous power and panache.
Unfortunately, the conditions weren't in his favor, and the Belgian leader was met by a tough headwind and a motivated chase from behind.
Afterwards, Gilbert was disappointed, but resolute in the knowledge that he had given his all.
"I tried on the penultimate climb, but at the end, I came up a bit short. I want to thank the team, because they rode a great race. We have done everything. I have raced to win, but to no avail, though I tried everything," said this year's Amstel Gold winner to Sporza.
Gilbert's immense power was evident when he distanced everyone by a considerable amount of time, but the real question was - should he have waited for the final climb?
"No, because there was the wind. I don't know, it's always hard to tell."
Gilbert's answer might seem a bit counterintuitive, but it's clear from the race's proceedings that the Lombardia hope saw a solid opportunity at a difficult moment and took the race in his hands.
Belgian coach, Carlo Bomans, was also hesitant to give an opinion on Gilbert's relatively early move in the finale.
"Maybe, but that's hindsight of course," said the experienced Belgian selector to Sporza.
One thing Gilbert could not complain about, in any way, was the impressive riding of his Belgian team. The team took the reins of responsibility early on in the race and factored from beginning to end.
"We made the race as a Belgian team. In the early going, we had a strange situation, because the early break were 23 minutes ahead, and if we didn't start moving, we would have been a lap down. Too bad we did not get help from the other countries."
Dirk De Wolf, mentor and coach to Philippe Gilbert, was also impressed with the united Belgian effort when he spoke to Sporza.
"All the Belgians have ridden a great race. At the end, I saw a strong Leukemans and Van Avermaet. Philippe has done what he should do. He took his responsibility. Philippe was the strongest today with Cadel Evans."
Carlo Bomans also lauded his troops after a great day on the road in Australia, but can't help but express feeling a bit low to leave Australia without the rainbow jersey.
"I'm disappointed, because we had come to win, but I'm proud of my boys. We rode a perfect race. From the start, we took on the responsibility. We had the favorite, and the whole team did an amazing ride."
Gilbert put everything into that final move, but the wind, which had been almost nonexistent through the opening part of the race, had reared its head and conspired to put paid to Gilbert's chances. Everything Gilbert had went into the last move, so when the final sprint came just a few kilometers later, the normally quick finisher had nothing left in his tank.
"In the last kilometers, alone, there was just too much wind. In the sprint, I came up short, I had given everything in the escape and was hobbled by cramps. Was I the strongest? It's not important, only the World Championship win counts," said a tired Gilbert.
De Wolf puts it more simply, "Philippe has played all or nothing. He gambled and lost."
If today's result sparks anything resembling last year's tremendous season finale, we could be in for a treat. In last season's World Championships in Mendrisio, Gilbert showed himself as one of the strongest, came up short, then exploded with a season ending run of success. He followed his 6th place finish in Mendrisio with wins at the Coppa Sabatini, Paris-Tours, the Giro del Piemonte, and the Giro di Lombardia - five straight wins to cap off 2009.
"I'm disappointed, but now I will focus mainly on Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia," said the former winner of both races.
"Paris-Tours might not be ideal from the jet lag, but the Giro di Lombardia will be ok."
Sporza asked the Classics specialist if he was thinking about next year's Worlds in Copenhagen yet. Gilbert, firmly grounded in the task at hand, refused to get caught up in looking too far ahead. There's still a lot to be done in 2010 according to the rider slowly establishing himself as the preeminent one day rider in the world.
"No, I'm still not thinking about that. There are first the two autumn classics, and I want to focus on those first."