Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) barely had time to reflect on his Tour of Flanders victory when questions about his future were already being asked. Gilbert's Flanders win puts him among an illustrious group of riders who have taken titles at three separate Monuments. The result also keeps his hopes of winning all five alive, with Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix remaining.
Winning all five would put him in a very exclusive group that contains just three - Eddy Merckx, Roger de Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy.
"It's always been a dream. I have been speaking about this for a long time now," Gilbert told the media in his post-race press conference. "I was third here twice before and twice third in San Remo, and finally I won here in Flanders so I can cross that one off. It's done. I still have two to make, Roubaix and San Remo. The good news is that it's not my last year, so I still have a chance in the future."
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He might be a Walloon, but Gilbert's victory was immensely popular in Flanders, and the new De Ronde champion was still doing the media rounds several hours after he lifted his bike aloft on the finish line. Even his most ardent of fans would have been astounded by his long-range attack for victory.
A surge of power saw Gilbert break free of the bunch on the Kwaremont with more than 50 kilometres remaining, holding off the chasers by 29 seconds in the end. It was an all-or-nothing move that could have left Gilbert empty handed, and had Sagan and Van Avermaet not come down in a crash the story could have been a very different one. He admitted afterwards that he hadn't intended on breaking away at that point and had only wanted to put the pressure on.
"Myself also," he responded when told that people thought he'd been crazy to attack when he did. "We decided, with Trentin and Boonen, to speed up on the Kwaremont. Tom went full gas, even on the asphalt before the cobbles. He really did a big pull on the first part, and then I took over. I shifted to the big chainring when it was a bit flatter and then after this little chicane in the village, I was looking back, and I saw that I had a gap.
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