Omega Pharma Lotto rider will hit top form later this spring
His Classics results in other years plus his three wins this season mean that Philippe Gilbert is one of the hottest of race favourites heading into Milan-San Remo. Yet the Belgian is staying relaxed and not getting wound up by that position, making him potentially even more dangerous.
“My peak is later, around the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “I can’t be stressed about La Primavera. If I get a result, it is great. If not, then no worries.”
The statement will be a confidence-eroding one for his rivals, as it indicates that he should be able to further build his form in the weeks ahead. This season he has taken a stages in the Volta ao Algarve, won the Montepaschi Strade Bianche and then picked up a stage win in Tirreno-Adriatico.
Gilbert’s best finish in Milan-Sanremo came in 2008 when he placed third overall.