Gilbert Makes His Departure A Little Less Painful By Winning Paris-Tours race
by Jean Montois
TOURS, France, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - Belgian one-day specialist Philippe
Gilbert handed his Francaise des Jeux team the ideal farewell gift by winning
his maiden one-day classic at Paris-Tours on Sunday.
Gilbert’s first victory in the 102nd edition of the race, held over 252km,
comes only weeks before he ends his five-year stay with the French outfit by
moving to Silence-Lotto.
And the 26-year-old, one of Francaise des Jeux talisman riders in the past
five years, admitted he went all out to make sure his final weeks with the
team would be remembered by his emblematic manager Marc Madiot.
“I promised Marc that I would win a major race before I left” said Gilbert.
“I’ve had a few chances and came close a few times; I was runner-up on one
stage in the Tour de France and the Tour of Spain.
“This morning I told myself this was my last chance. But, since it wasn’t
too windy a day I didn’t fancy my chances of being able to break away.”
Thanks in part to a lapse in concentration from his rivals, Gilbert went
for broke in the closing 15km.
After the last rider from a five-man breakaway was caught 25km from the
finish, an acceleration by Frenchman Sebastien Turgot 10km further on prompted
Nicolas Vogondy, Mickael Delage then Belgian Jan Kuyckx to tag along.
Gilbert then closed the gap to the quartet after following, then passing
Italian threat Filippo Pozzato on the penultimate climb of the day.
The leaders managed to stay in front for the remainder of the race, and
after crossing the red flag signaling the final kilometre Gilbert waited
patiently before jumping out from behind the wheel of teammate Delage after
Vogondy had launched his bid 300 meters out.
He coasted over the finish line in triumph, with Kuyckx nipping ahead of
French duo Turgot and Vogondy to take second place.
Bouygues Telecom’s Turgot was disappointed, but graceful in defeat.
“You can’t ever be happy when you’re going for the win and you finish
third,” he said. “But at the same time you can’t have any regrets when you’re
up against a rider like Gilbert.”
Having almost won the race twice, in 2005 and 2007, Gilbert knows it takes
years of experience to finally land a prestigious one-day title.
“Paris-Tours is a major classic and one of those races that I’ve dream of
winning,” added Gilbert, who lives near the foot of one of the
Liege-Bastogne-Liege race’s famous climbs.
“I started racing the classics young, at the age of 20, but now I’ve got
the experience and I know how to approach it with making those fatal mistakes.”
He added: “Now, it’s the end of one chapter, but it’s not a farewell, just
a goodbye.”
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