ProTeam Philippe Gilbert: “I want to leave my mark on the race one last time.”

After an impressive pro career of no less than twenty season – of which six at the Lotto cycling teams – Philippe Gilbert will pin on a race number for the last time this Sunday. The 40-year-old Belgian does so in Paris-Tours, a race he won in both 2008 and 2009 and which labels as his first big and symbolic victory.

“Racing with the thought of being the last time, will be really special”, begins Philippe Gilbert. “And to say goodbye in Paris-Tours will be something unique. In the past, the race was one of 260 kilometres on the highest level. I immediately noticed that the final, with lots of opportunities to attack, was made for me. In 2008, I could win it for the first time and despite two earlier victories at the Omloop Het Volk, Paris-Tours always felt like my first big and symbolic win.”

Despite saying goodbye to the professional cycling peloton, Gilbert wants to give it his all one last time and really leave a mark on the race.

“With the gravel sectors, it’s not the same race as the editions I won, but I still want to go for it one last time. The legs feel good, I’ve worked hard the last couple of months so I hope to be up there in the final with the best. Just like in Binche, as I said goodbye to my Belgian fans, it would also be nice to have a result in Tours. That would be a wonderful goodbye, but I am especially happy to finish the last races in a good shape. I didn’t want to stop anonymously. I want to race attractively and in the final 60 kilometres, there are a lot of opportunities to do so.”

In twenty years as a pro, Philippe Gilbert gathered no less than eighty victories. Among them two times Il Lombardia, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Roubaix, de Ronde van Vlaanderen and eleven Grand Tour stages. As the icing on the cake, Gilbert became world champion on ‘his’ Cauberg in 2012.

“It has been a unique period of my life, twenty years full of emotions. Of course I am really happy about my career and I wouldn’t change a thing. I tried to win lots of different races, like the Flemish, Walloon but also climbers’ races. I kept on working hard to obtain my goals and I have lived lots of beautiful moments. But I especially hope that people will remember me as an attractive rider who tried to animate the race. I’ve always loved this style of racing and I hope that I inspired the new generation”, concludes Philippe Gilbert.

Image: Photo News.