Belgian team manager is waiting to see if he will come on board
Quick Step team manager Patrick Lefevere has confirmed a strong interest in current Tour de France Maillot Vert Philippe Gilbert, one of the standout riders of the first part of the race. The Belgian competitor is currently considering offers for seasons to come and, according to Lefevere, he hopes to entice him on board.
“Just before the Tour and even during the Tour, I had a discussion with Philippe Gilbert and his manager. He assured me he has not yet signed for BMC,” he told Sporza. He added that he has made a formal offer for the rider.
Gilbert has been the success story of 2011, building on superb Classic performances he showed in the past two seasons. He has picked up 13 of the team’s 20 wins, most recently state one of the Tour at the Mont des Alouettes. His other victories this year include the unprecedented sequence of Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold, Flèche Wallonne-Liège and Bastogne-Liège.
His agent Vincent Wathelet told Het Nieuwsblad in June that aside from other factors, he had one big requirement from teams chasing his signature.
“Philippe wants the financial guarantee for three seasons. Although no option, because an option is not allowed by the UCI,” he said then. “There are not many teams who can guarantee that they could do three years and have sufficient budget, and where he can also feel good in the sporting sense. A number of teams were thanked for their interest, though.”
Current team manager Marc Sergeant would like to keep him on board, but things have been complicated by the fact that Omega Pharma and Lotto are splitting as partners.
“I don’t think there is the money to pay him,” Sergeant told Het Laatste Nieuws last month. “That money may have been there if the sponsors had stayed together. Gilbert is the [Alberto] Contador of the one day races. He has reached a point where he can earn really big money.”
In contrast, Lefevere said then that he did have the cash.
“The [Tom] Boonen-Gilbert combination would be ideal,” he told Sporza just over a month ago, “and I have the budget.
“It’s not a new sponsor, but Zdenek Bakala [the Czech billionaire, who invested in the team this year] has guaranteed me the budget.”
He denied there would be a clash between the two riders. “If you can get [Franco] Ballerini, [Johan] Museeuw and [Mario] Cipollini to ride together, and later Museeuw and [Michele] Bartoli, Museeuw and [Frank] Vandenbroucke and later Boonen, you can also get Gilbert and Boonen to ride together; I have no doubt.
“They know that they can compliment each other. Boonen and Gilbert are different types; they wouldn’t tread on each other’s toes.”
Given that Gilbert is only 29, it is reasonable to expect that he can maintain or possibly even improve his level. This makes him a major attraction to teams; amongst the others said to be interested are the BMC Racing Team and Sky Procycling. Astana made it clear that it wanted him to come on board, but Wathelet said that it couldn’t offer the three year guarantee needed.
Lefevere has had bad luck during this Tour, with Boonen pulling out due to the effects of a bad crash. Gert Steegmans and French champion Sylvain Chavanel are amongst those who have been badly hurt in falls. He’ll hope that his riders return to form, but will also keep his fingers crossed that he can entice Gilbert on board for the next few seasons.
“Philippe Gilbert said he expected August 1 to decide,” he told Sporza. “Where he will ride next season then? Only God knows. I hope it’s Quick-Step. I made him a formal offer…now its up to him to see if it’s yes or no.”
Meanwhile six-time points jersey winner Erik Zabel appears to be believe that it may be took late for Mark Cavendish (HTC Highroad) to fight Gilbert for the green jersey. “The uphill arrivals were ideal for someone like Philippe Gilbert and it is logical that he currently wears the green jersey,” he told the paper. “Mark does not have to panic. I won my first green jersey when I was 26, and I won the points classification six times in a row. Mark has plenty of time.”
Gilbert starts today’s stage with 217 points. Spanish champion Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) is on 172, with Cavendish on 153.