Belgian Champion talks of late attack on stage 13
Philippe Gilbert has made his intentions clear for the remainder of the Tour de France, and that’s to win the green points jersey. The Belgian champion is currently ninth overall in the general classification but says that is not a priority and conceded that he is likely to slip down the overall standings.
“I have given much in the first stages and I do not think the top ten is for me. I expect Kevin De Weert to be the first Belgian. The green jersey is my goal,” Gilbert told Het Nieuwsblad.
The winner of stage one of this year’s Tour de France went on the attack late during stage thirteen to finish in tenth place, picking up six valuable points in the green jersey competition. This was after he failed to get any points in the intermediate sprint when he tried to surprise the sprinters.
“I really wanted to be part of the escape. I attacked five or six times but the sprinters teams would not let me go,” said Gilbert. “Together with Jelle Vanendert we tried to surprise [Mark] Cavendish and [Jose Joaquin] Rojas just before the intermediate sprint. We got ahead with a dozen riders. Unfortunately it was too far and I was not fresh enough.”
The 29 year old didn’t give up after the failed attack as he finally slipped away on the long descent to the finish, withstanding a desperate chase from the Movistar team to bring him back.
“On the ascent of the Aubisque, I went completely in the red and was happy to keep up. The descent was really super. I went down nicely and actually amused myself. Finally, I could win some points again towards the green jersey.”
Cavendish currently leads the points competition with 264 points. Gilbert sits in third position, trailing the Manx missile by 24 points. Both riders are likely to have a tough time today as the race heads further into the Pyrenees. Five categorised climbs await the peloton before the race finishes up the treacherous Plateau De Beille.