Gilbert in a league of one
The superlatives rolled off the tongue on Sunday as Philippe Gilbert made a world-class break look rather ordinary in the final stages of Amstel Gold Race. The Belgian was everywhere – on the attack, on the front, in the wind, and even on the deck at one point – but after his solo demolition at the Tour of Flanders this was an altogether different assault through the hills of Limburg. First, he followed the accelerations of Tiesj Benoot and Sergio Henao, before matching the late attack from Michal Kwiatkowski with the most decisive move of the race. Gilbert was simply unstoppable and the writing was on the wall when the cameras panned across the leading pair with a few kilometres to go. The Team Sky rider’s shoulders were beginning to drop, as he was visibly struggling for air, his cheeks puffed out with the effort, while Gilbert, on the other hand, looked immense. Even when he allowed Kwiatkowski a head start in the sprint, it mattered little, and the way he finished the race suggested that he had more in the tank. For all those superlatives that the television commentators pulled from their suitcases of courage, the measure of Gilbert’s victory was summed up by Kwiatkowski, who acknowledged that he no answer to the Belgian’s might. “Beaten by the better rider.” Enough said.
For Gilbert, the spring ended as soon as he crossed the line, due to a kidney injury picked up in his mid-race fall. Thus ends all talk of a second ‘Ardennes triple’ and leaves Quick-Step with Dan Martin as their sole leader for both Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Gilbert, however, has rekindled his career in the most astonishing manner, adding two Classics to his palmarès in the space of two weeks. The puzzling question, and there’s no easy answer, is why he went through such a relatively barren spell at BMC. Gilbert and Patrick Lefevere will not lose any sleep over that particular debate.
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Did Kwiatkowski go too soon?
Having watched Michal Kwiatkowski win Milan-San Remo, a world title, Amstel Gold, Strade Bianche (twice) and a hatful of other races it’s fair to say that the man knows his race tactics. That doesn’t make him the perfect, faultless tactician, but it’s safe to say that he has the nous to tell from which direction the wind is blowing. So when he launched his sprint with 350m to go it was because Gilbert briefly took his eye off the Pole, giving him that split second to jump. Kwiatkowski had already drifted off the Belgian’s wheel, meaning that by the time he built up enough speed the Quick-Step rider was in serious trouble.
Given Gilbert’s form he would have won a straight-up drag race so Kwiatkowski had to try something different. He did that, and for the first moment in the entire race, Gilbert looked vulnerable. Proclaiming that Kwiatkowski should have waited another 75 meters before winding up his sprint is all well and good, but he saw a chance and went for it.
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