Cycling Feature: A recap on Philippe Gilbert’s performance over the years
The 2011 calendar year is almost over but it seems as if the Belgian cycling sensation, Philippe Gilbert, is not finished yet. Owing to his unmatchable performance during the 2011 season, the cyclist has now been elected as the Belgian athlete of the year
for the third consecutive time.
Gilbert also secured the first place at the UCI WorldTour rankings as of October 2011. He scored the maximum number of points, 698, during the current season, whereas Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador achieved the second and third positions, respectively.
The Belgian has won a number of other honours, including the Velo d’Or award for the 2011 season.
He managed to overcome Mark Cavendish and Cadel Evans at the annual poll arranged by the French magazine, Velo Magazine.
Gilbert started cycling professionally in 2003 with Team FDJeux.com and secured his first victory with the team at the Tour Down Under 2004. He won a stage at the event along with the young rider’s classification at the Australian tour.
The Belgian finished 49th at the 2004 Summer Olympics men’s road race and surprised everyone with his all round performance.
He bagged a number of victories in 2005, including Four Days of Dunkirk, Tour Mediterraneen, Tour du Haut-Var, Trophee des Grimpeurs and the Polynormande.
2006 was the best year for the cyclist, as he proved his mettle at the Omloop Het Volk by winning the event.
Gilbert also dominated the GP de Wallonie and GP de Fourmies along with the stage wins at the Eneco Tour and the Dauphine Libere.
Gilbert spent a time of six years with FDJeux.com before moving to Team Silence Lotto in 2009. He spent two years with the Belgian team before finally joining the BMC squad.
The 29-year-old’s performance during the 2011 season included the overall win at the Tour of Belgium along with a stage 3 win.
He finished second at the Eneco Tour 2011 and first overall at the Ster ZLM Toer with a stage 4 win at the race.
Gilbert told Velonews, “I think I’ve had an exceptional season and I know that you have to go a long way back to find a season of this calibre, but I think it’s too early to assess it, I really need a few years of distance”.
The cyclist will ride with the American team in the coming season, and is looking forward to the Milan-San Remo.
He mentioned, “Milan-San Remo is a very historic race, with a route that is practically always the same”.
One of the greatest cyclists of all time, Eddy Merckx, is the only cyclist who won the Milan-San Remo for a maximum number of seven times. Philippe has shown interest to ride the same route in the memory of Merckx.
Following cyclists will continue their season with the BMC squad in 2012: George Hincapie, Cadel Evans, Steve Morabito, Michael Schar, Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Martin Kohler and Mathias Frank.
New inclusions in the BMC squad include, Tejay Van Garderen, Thor Hushovd, Adam Blythe and Steve Cummings.
Philippe will now ride along with the Tour de France 2011 winner, Cadel Evans, in the coming season.
It is believed that Evans will concentrate on the stage races whereas Gilbert will continue to show his brilliance in the Classics for the season ahead.
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