Omega Pharma-Lotto captain says he won't think about transfer possibilities until August
In a recent interview with L'Equipe, Astana's veteran Kazakh captain, Alexandre Vinokourov, left open the possibility of returning to race for another season in 2012, if everything came together just right. Along with that small bombshell, the two-time Liege-Bastogne-Liege champion dropped another bomb - the possibility of signing Omega Pharma-Lotto's leader and arguably the best all around one day specialist in the world, Philippe Gilbert.
In the interview, the 37 year old said: "Philippe is my friend. We both live in Monaco. We go out and train together often. He's a very nice guy. For the Classics, he could be an example for riders like Maxim Iglinkskiy, even if they are older than him. He can give extra motivation to them to win a Classic like Sanremo, Flanders, Amstel…"
To be fair, Vinokourov only mentioned Gilbert as a possibility, but even that mention was enough to raise the ire of the recent Strade Bianche victor.
"I have the opportunity to regularly truing with a lot of riders who also live in Monaco: Hushovd, Vinokourov, Boonen. I am under contract with Omega Pharma-Lotto at this moment, and I'm not speaking with any other teams," stated the Wallonian star to Het Laatste Nieuws.
Gilbert, who goes into the Classics season with the unique ability to race for the win in nearly every Classic from Milano-Sanremo to the Giro di Lombardia, is firm in his intention to focus on the task at hand: winning big bike races. The possibility of switching teams for 2012 will have to wait until later.
"After August 1st, I will examine all options. At this moment, I will concentrate on this season and set my goals. All the rest is pure speculation and rumors that are currently not important."
Gilbert is currently seeking to hone his form to a razor sharp edge this week at Tirreno-Adriatico. The spring's main goals are rapidly approaching and so are Gilbert's first big tests of 2011.
Does it feel like the transfer rumor mill gets started earlier and earlier each season?