Back in 2006, Philippe Gilbert took his first semi-classic victory at the Belgian one day race Omloop Het Volk after a successful amateur career that saw him win the points title and a stage at the prestigious Tour de l'Avenir. At only 24 years old, Gilbert was marked as a rider to watch for the future, and big things were expected of the rising Belgian star.
His upward trajectory continued in 2007, as he won the Belgian national time trial championship, and he headed into 2008 as the undisputed one day leader of his French Francaise des Jeux team. He did not disappoint. 2008 was a breakthrough season for Gilbert, as he took top honors in several big time races, including the Het Volk once again, and for the first time, Paris-Tours. He also took third pace at Milan San-Remo, narrowly missing out on the win after a blistering final kilometer attack by Fabian Cancellara.
For 2009, Gilbert came home. Realizing a change was needed in his career, Gilbert signed on to ride with the second biggest Belgian team in the sport, Silence-Lotto. With his new contract as a Belgian rider on a Belgian team came heaps of pressure to perform, and for much of the early season Gilbert failed to deliver. After falling short at his beloved Het Volk and some of the other early season classics, Gilbert began to make inroads beginning at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, where he placed third, and then again at the Amstel Gold and Leige-Bastogne-Leige classics, where he placed fourth on both occasions.
Yet despite these good results, Gilbert had yet to win a race in his new Silence-Lotto team kit. The pressure continued to build into the summer, and after his teammate Cadel Evans fell flat at the Tour de France, the heat was on Gilbert and the rest of the Lotto team to man up in a desperate search for victories over the final half of the season.
The first sign that things were beginning to turn for the Lotto squad came at the Vuelta a Espana, where Cadel Evans rode well in search of the overall title. Once again though the Aussie was struck down by bad luck, and finished in third place, a heart breaking result after having had such good form. Then, weeks later in Mendrisio, everything shifted for the Silence-Lotto team. Evans, riding as quietly as always, bided his time until the right moment and then jumped away from a packed field in Mendrisio, taking his biggest victory to date, the rainbow bands of world champion. The pressure miraculously began to subside for Lotto, as Gilbert's form continued to rise.
After the world's, Gilbert began to prepare for his defence of his Paris-Tours title. It is very difficult to repeat in any big race, but Gilbert did it at Paris-Tours, this time out sprinting fellow countryman Tom Boonen. It was a huge win for Gilbert, and showed just how good his form was. If he could beat Boonen in a one up sprint, what else was he capable of?
The answer came a few days later at the Italian semi-classic Giro del Piemonte, where Gilbert once again rode away from the field for a solo win. His confidence sky high, Gilbert claimed, according to cyclingnews.com that he had the form of his life, and he was already looking ahead to Lombardia: "Now I want to try to win in Lombardy. I don't know the route well but I'm going to see it tomorrow. The Ghisallo is hard, but the Civiglio and San Fermo are important too, more suitable to my legs. When I have a condition like this, no course is too hard for me. I can win them all." And win Lombardia he did, taking a one up sprint again, this time against Sammy Sanchez.
With his Lombardia win Gilbert takes his fourth win in a row and his first ever monument. Now a "mature," full-fledged pro, Gilbert's name will top the list of favorites for any one day race going forward. After a gradual build up over the past several seasons, Gilbert is showing that when on form, he is virtually unbeatable. For Silence-Lotto management meanwhile, patience has proven that good things come to those who wait. After a rocky start to the season, the Belgian team has taken the world championship, and four of the final races of the year, including the fifth and final monument. All that is left is to plan for an all out assault in 2010.
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