Tag: Philippe Gilbert

  • Philippe Gilbert: the rider Bradley Wiggins perhaps wishes he could have been

    Cycling’s a little like a giant volcano that rises from the seabed. Britons, in particular, see the obvious bit that pokes above the water – the Tour de France and Olympic track cycling – and don’t give much thought to all that lies beneath. If the other two Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia and the…

  • Philippe Gilbert has a colourful time at Amstel Gold

    Ardennes Week (which is actually eight days long) is when we segue from one-day racing to stage racing. Amstel Gold, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege involve much of the hurly burly of the cobbled classics – including that peculiar phenomenon where riders actually race to win, rather than conserving energy for the following day. However,…

  • Philippe Gilbert passes his Tour of Flanders interview

    The short version is that Philippe Gilbert pushed away from everyone on the Oude Kwaremont with 55km to and was never seen again. That really doesn’t do his Tour of Flanders winning ride justice though. The attack – the surging sustained power that saw the gap created – was really just passing the interview. It…

  • Descending matters and moral matters

    Bit pressed for time, so I’m going to have to wazz through this a bit. First, the stage winner: Philippe Gilbert. He was in the break, he was dropped on the climb, paced himself and then attacked on the descent. Descending matters (verb). Next, the overall and moral matters (noun). Alberto Contador spotted that Astana’s…

  • Philippe Gilbert goes into the red

    An important aspect of cycling is that different terrain suits different riders. That’s why I always like to see the Grand Tour contenders beaten on an incline. It reinforces the notion that the sport’s a little more nuanced than just ‘fastest uphill’. Philippe Gilbert is fastest uphill, but only for a bit. Give him a…

  • Eight pairs to watch in the 2014 Vuelta a Espana

    There aren’t enough race previews binding riders together into twos. Let’s be honest, all the best things come in pairs. Also Twixes. The Chrises – Chris Horner and Chris Froome Horner won last year. Froome’s one of the big favourites to win this year. What more do you need to know? Horner’s age, maybe? He’s…

  • Philippe Gilbert does the Monster Mash at Amstel Gold

    Could anyone have stopped Philippe Gilbert on his favourite hill, the Cauberg? Michal Kwiatkowski would maybe have had half a chance if he’d had a little more help from team-mates. “We lost Tony Martin in a key moment and I missed him at the end.” What Kwiatkowski omits to mention is that his Omega Pharma…

  • Oh look, Philippe Gilbert’s turned up

    Someone needs to step in and turn the pages of Philippe Gilbert’s calendar for him. He keeps turning up five months late. Phil always aims for April and the hilly spring classics, but this year and last year it hasn’t been until the Vuelta that he’s won a race. Last year, that late season form…

  • Philippe Gilbert stays in the big ring for the Cauberg

    This year’s World Championships finished just over the top of the Cauberg, the hill used at the end of The Amstel Gold Race. Philippe Gilbert won that race in 2010 and 2011. He also won the World Championships today. Apparently, he didn’t drop out of the big ring at the finish. The burning in his…

  • Does Philippe Gilbert have another job?

    So, the other day we were thinking about getting someone to do the drive. It was kind of crappy looking, so we tore up most of the front yard to make it fully crappy looking. We then HAD to hire someone. Trawling the internet for people, we found a P Gilbert advertising his services. Could…