Philippe Gilbert all set for the UCI Road World Championships
Philippe Gilbert might have been a little late to secure the first victory of his 2012 season but the Belgian has certainly got the attention after his terrific stage victories at the Vuelta a Espana 2012.
Gilbert opened his winning account with a stage 9 victory at the Spanish Grand Tour and also managed to succeed during the 19th stage of the race.
Philippe’s current form can definitely help him at the most important cycling event of the year, UCI Road World Championships 2012.
Most of the cycling experts have declared him as a favourite to win the rainbow jersey, along with Alessandro Ballan, who fell victim of Gilbert’s lightning form during the stage 19 of the Vuelta a Espana 2012.
Alessandro was leading the final kilometres of the race before he was restricted by Juan Antonio Flecha, Klas Lodewyck and finally Philippe Gilbert.
The 30-year-old completed the race in a quickest time of 4 hours, 56 minutes and 25 seconds.
Alejandro Valverde Belmonte of Team Movistar, Daniel Moreno of Team Katusha, Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Team Katusha and Gianni Meersman of Team Lotto Belisol claimed the next four spots.
While commenting on the race, Ballan told Biciciclismo, “It was a perfectly finale for Philippe and we worked hard to get this result for him, Klas and I worked a lot when Flecha went away with three other riders”.
“We’re delighted with his win. When Philippe has those legs he is unbeatable – he is going to be the world champion this year”.
Phlippe Gilbert was delighted after securing the second win of the season and thanked his team-mates for their support during the race.
"All wins are nice as it’s always very tough to win at this level. A lot of credit for this one should go to my team,” he noted.
“Klaas Lodewijk and Alessandro Ballan did great in the closing kilometres. When you have a big talent like Ballan working for you there’s no doubt you get extra motivation".
The 2012 UCI Road World Championships are scheduled from September 15 to 23, in Limburg, Holland.
The winner of the 2008 version of the race, Alessandro Ballan has predicted that Gilbert will be very difficult to defeat at the coming event and is a strong contender for the rainbow jersey.
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