Belgian says he should have combined with Evans at the worlds, questions Pozzato’s tactics
Already due back from Australia today, Philippe Gilbert has put his near-miss at the world road race championships behind him and is aiming for the final big targets in his season. He is the defending champion in this weekend’s Paris-Tours and also in the Tour of Lombardy. While it is uncertain if he will recover in time to be at very top strength in the first of those, a repeat win in Italy is certainly on his mind and helping him to keep his focus.
“The preparation for Paris-Tours will not be perfect, I’m afraid”, the Belgian rider told La Dernière Heure. “First of all there is the jet lag and fatigue of travel, and then I can really not train [properly] before Thursday. But for Lombardy, it should go well. I still want a Classic win this season!”
Because of the travel, Gilbert will pass up the opportunity to dispute the first of the four consecutive races he won last year. He’ll miss Thursday’s Coppa Sabatini, but will ride the other three – Paris-Tours, the Tour du Piémont and Lombardy. He can take motivation from the fact that he is in superb form, having been the strongest rider in Geelong on Sunday.
Gilbert surged ahead on the final ascent of The Ridge climb, built a maximum lead of 20 seconds, but was reeled in by the chasing group three kilometres from the line. He is initially reluctant to be drawn on speculation as to what he should have done differently, simply telling the interviewer that he did what he could: “In retrospect, one can always say I should have done this or that,” he said. “It’s easy. I do not ‘replay’ a race. I am sure that I raced as I had to and did all that was necessary.”
But with a little more encouragement, he opens up. “If I had waited for the sprint, I would never won against Freire, Hushovd, or Davis . Fifth or eighteenth, what’s the difference? “
Instead, he threw the gauntlet down the final time up that steep climb. He went alone, but would have preferred some company. “I hoped to see some riders get across to me to go to the finish together. My one little mistake is to have started when Evans was too far back and not having waited,” he said. “Him, he would have ridden with me. Not like Pozzato, I really do not understand his behaviour.”
What’s reassuring is that he is not wasting time rueing missed chances. It’s hard to imagine anybody would have complained had he taken the rainbow jersey; he’s been one of the strongest riders all season, winning the Amstel Gold, two stages in the Vuelta and other races. He was also the most powerful rider on Sunday. Yet, rather than dwelling on what has already occurred, he’s looked at what he has achieved in recent weeks, as well as looking ahead to his next targets.
“In cycling, there is a winner and two hundred losers,” says Gilbert, philosophically. “You lose far more often than you win. I worked for months to get in shape for this point, I have not wasted my time in doing so, winning two stages in the Vuelta.”
If he can keep his momentum going a little longer, he could yet add to his impressive haul of results.