CyclingQuotes.com uses cookies for statistics and targeting ads. This information is shared with third parties.
ACCEPT COOKIES » MORE INFO »

Every day we bring you more pro-cycling news

"The Olympics, everyone knows the importance of this. The impact is different, especially for Belgium as we have never had any success there. It’s really big to have a medal, even to have bronze is really big.”

Photo: Tim De Waele/TDW Sport

PHILIPPE GILBERT

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS
03.01.2016 @ 16:34 Posted by Joseph Doherty

At 34, Philippe Gilbert is not only one of the peloton’s best riders with an amazing CV; he is also one of the sports most experienced names. He spoke to PEZ Cycling about the Olympics, Classics and the challenges of the offseason.

 

While Gilbert is still chasing three monuments, he says he would really like a podium in the Olympics road race, even if he isn’t sure if the course can suit him.

 

“It’s bigger than anything. When you say to people who don’t know about cycling and you say you won Liege, they ask you if it’s a race, they don’t know what it is. If you said you won a stage in the Tour they start to get interested or World championships, but they don’t know the rules; if it’s a ranking or a one day race. But then the Olympics it’s like; if you say you got a medal there, everyone knows the importance of this. The impact is very different, especially for a country like Belgium as we have never had any success there, one medal every ten years maybe. Really we have no success. It’s really big to have a medal, even to have bronze is really big.”

 

Talking about whether or not the course will suit him, the Belgian said:

 

“I don’t know, I haven’t had contact with the team, the National coach hasn’t contacted me yet. When he contacts me, we will find out if the course suits me or not and we will see which kind of riders he will want there.”

 

Gilbert spoke about trying to win the last three Monuments he hasn’t won, Roubaix, Flanders and Sanremo. He will try for sure but he says he wont even attempt Roubaix in 2016. He doesn’t know about Flanders yet.

 

“I just miss Sanremo, Flanders and Roubaix, so I want to try for these ones. I turn 34 next year so it’s time now. I only have my schedule to Sanremo. I start in Dubai and then I do Almería and Murcia, Vuelta del Sol, Het Nieuwsblad, Le Samyn, Paris-Nice and Sanremo.”

 

Turning back to the Olympics, many riders are skipping the Giro as they think the Tour is the best preparation. Gilbert has a great opinion on this, as he has done two Olympics and has prepared for one with each of the two early Grand Tours.

 

“I’ve ridden the Olympics twice, once with the Tour and once without and both times were good. When you look at the top ten of the Olympics it’s not 100% coming from the Tour, I think it’s 50/50. And another thing is that if you are really motivated you can train very hard also in July and be good and I think this year we have Pologne, so that also gives a possibility to be good. You can train hard, but in the end racing is the best way to get ready for a race.”

 

One of the reasons Gilbert may struggle in Sanremo is that the race often ends in a sprint with fast sprinters, which Gilbert struggle to match. He spoke about going from distance in the Classics.

 

“Every team is complete with a lot riders ready for the Classics, so it’s harder and harder. When you take a picture from the bunch with 20 K’s to go in races like; Flanders, Liege or Lombardy you have at least one team with five guys and in the past you had two or three guys maximum from one team. So now if you have a minimum of five guys from each team and so when you go and have three or four guys chasing you, it’s hard to beat them, except if it’s raining or very technical or it’s different. If the weather is nice or there is a head-wind, then it’s nearly impossible.”

 

Gilbert says that he is always excited at the start of the season to get going again and he doesn’t see it as just business. He says anyone who enters cycling professionally to make money and not enjoy racing is in the wrong sport.

 

“Sport in general if you take it only for making money, it’s the wrong way, especially cycling as it’s so hard and you have to push yourself to perform. I would not like to race if I was not fit, my goal has always been to be the best I can and I just see that over the years I have to work on my weight because it’s harder to loose weight. When I was 25 I was losing 3 kilos in one week no problem and now I need like one month, so this is the biggest difference I have seen. But for the rest, like training, my body still responds very well.”

 

MORE NEWS:

VIEW SELECTED

Bycykling 101: Navigering i byens gader og cykelvenlige... 27.11.2023 @ 12:11The Best Danish Cyclist To Bet On At 2022 Tour De France 13.01.2022 @ 15:262022 Upcoming Tournament Overview 03.01.2022 @ 09:45Best Place to Find Stand-Up Paddleboards 16.06.2021 @ 08:16What are Primoz Roglic’s Chances to Win 2021 Tour de Fr... 17.03.2021 @ 08:37Amazing victory by young champion Sarah Gigante 04.02.2021 @ 14:21Three reasons why cycling is one of the best ways to ex... 28.09.2020 @ 12:03Why do businesses use meeting room managers? 14.09.2020 @ 13:42Five things that you can do, if you want to gain more f... 20.08.2020 @ 15:38One for the road 09.06.2020 @ 15:25List of CyclingQuotes previews 07.05.2020 @ 13:20Blue Energy: room for all interests 26.08.2019 @ 12:56Get your daily dose of exercise at home 08.07.2019 @ 10:443 good advice to be able to afford your favorite bike 25.02.2019 @ 12:32Cycle through gorgeous landscapes 22.10.2018 @ 21:41Balance Your Economy and Diet and Start Saving Money 08.10.2018 @ 11:18Stay Safe: 3 Helmets That Can Keep Your Head Protected... 20.07.2018 @ 07:59Planning to bet on Tour De France - Bet types and strat... 24.05.2018 @ 14:18Basics of cycling betting 25.10.2017 @ 13:10Bauer moves to ORICA-SCOTT 28.08.2017 @ 10:45End of the road for CyclingQuotes 08.01.2017 @ 16:00Rui Costa confirms Giro participation 07.01.2017 @ 12:55Van Avermaet: I am not afraid of Sagan 07.01.2017 @ 09:45Unchanged course for E3 Harelbeke 07.01.2017 @ 09:32Jenner takes surprise win at Australian U23 Championships 07.01.2017 @ 08:53No replacement for Meersman at Fortuneo-Vital Concept 06.01.2017 @ 19:14Barguil with two goals in 2017 06.01.2017 @ 19:06More details about French Vuelta start emerges 06.01.2017 @ 14:16Kristoff to start season at Etoile de Besseges 06.01.2017 @ 14:10Ion Izagirre announces schedule for first year at Bahrain 06.01.2017 @ 12:40JLT Condor optimistic for Herald Sun Tour 06.01.2017 @ 09:19Haas leads Dimension Data trio in fight for Australian... 06.01.2017 @ 09:15Sagan spearheads Bora-hansgrohe at Tour Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:12Henao and Thomas lead Sky Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:09Bauer crowned New Zealand TT champion 06.01.2017 @ 08:33Van der Poel ready to defend Dutch title 05.01.2017 @ 21:00Pantano ambitious for first Tour with Trek 05.01.2017 @ 20:41Landa with new approach to the Giro 05.01.2017 @ 20:36Sunweb Development Team sign Goos and Zepuntke 05.01.2017 @ 20:27Dumoulin confirms Giro participation 05.01.2017 @ 20:19Bauer targets victories in Quick-Step debut 05.01.2017 @ 20:16Gaviria and Boonen lead Quick-Step in San Juan 05.01.2017 @ 20:13Team Sunweb presented in Germany 05.01.2017 @ 20:09ASO take over major German WorldTour race 05.01.2017 @ 11:01Team Sunweb unveil new jersey 05.01.2017 @ 10:54Reactions from the Australian TT Championships 05.01.2017 @ 08:27Dennis defends Australian TT title 05.01.2017 @ 08:21Scotson takes back to back U23 TT titles in Australia 05.01.2017 @ 08:15Utrecht on track to host 2020 Vuelta 04.01.2017 @ 18:28Pre-season setback for Talansky 04.01.2017 @ 17:56Kristoff: It's not impossible for me to win in Rou... 04.01.2017 @ 17:49Boom close to first cyclo-cross win in LottoNL debut 04.01.2017 @ 17:40UAE Abu Dhabi make late signing of Arab rider 04.01.2017 @ 17:36UAE Abu Dhabi unveil new jersey 04.01.2017 @ 17:30BMC unveil race schedule 04.01.2017 @ 17:21

Currently no news in this list

Lucas Eamon FRANCK
32 years | today
Maral-erdene BATMUNKH
30 years | today
James EARLY
39 years | today
Iliana ROMERO
35 years | today
James GULLEN
35 years | today

© CyclingQuotes.com