Gilbert's Spring

frenchfighter

Everyone knows he is good but it is nice to look at it like this:

Milano-Sanremo: 9th
Gent-Wevelgem: 3rd
Tour of Flanders: 3rd
Paris-Roubaix: pass
Brabantse Pijl: 5th
Amstel Gold: 1st
Fleche Wallonne: 6th
Liege-Bastogne-Liege: 4th

Good article about him with quite a few quotes:
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/3951/ ... tness.aspx

Neil McC

Good spring for him, though I expect he's gutted about LBL as that seemed to be the one he was really targetting.

Gilbert is the one for me out of the current riders who could win all five monuments in his career.

rick_chasey

Neil McC wrote:

Good spring for him, though I expect he's gutted about LBL as that seemed to be the one he was really targetting.

Gilbert is the one for me out of the current riders who could win all five monuments in his career.

Nah.

It's one thing being part of the finale for a classic. It's another having the form to go out and win it.

It's difficult to hold those few extra percentage points needed for a win over the whole classics season.

His target is always the Ardennes, so his form up till then will never be as 'top' as it needs to be for a win.

takethehighroad

But if he gets LBL in the bag, will he then move his focus away from it? There's very little time between MSR and Paris Roubaix, Boonen manages to hold his form quite easily. I think he's more liekly to do it than Cancellara for example.

It's a similar situation to Contador. Once he proves this season that's he can win the TDF whenever he feels like it, I can see him moving onto other things. Hell, he's already started on the Ardennes this season and there's talk of the Giro-Tour double next year.

rick_chasey

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

But if he gets LBL in the bag, will he then move his focus away from it? There's very little time between MSR and Paris Roubaix, Boonen manages to hold his form quite easily. I think he's more liekly to do it than Cancellara for example.

It's a similar situation to Contador. Once he proves this season that's he can win the TDF whenever he feels like it, I can see him moving onto other things. Hell, he's already started on the Ardennes this season and there's talk of the Giro-Tour double next year.

Boonen dipped after Flanders - he wasn't in super form at Roubaix.

20th March to 25th April is a very long time to be 'super'.

Boonen says so himself, regularly.. :P

Cancellara has already won all the flatlander classics, so he can turn his focus to peaking for the Ardenne races, if he wants to go for it... (though whether he will or not is a different matter)

Moontrane

Rick Chasey wrote:

Neil McC wrote:

Good spring for him, though I expect he's gutted about LBL as that seemed to be the one he was really targetting.

Gilbert is the one for me out of the current riders who could win all five monuments in his career.

Nah.

It's one thing being part of the finale for a classic. It's another having the form to go out and win it.

It's difficult to hold those few extra percentage points needed for a win over the whole classics season.

His target is always the Ardennes, so his form up till then will never be as 'top' as it needs to be for a win.

In his career not one season. I think he’s got the potential to do it.

Moomaloid

Can't see Pip winning Roubaix

Pross

I think Canc could do it if he sets his aims on the Ardennes. OK he isn't a climber in the sense that he can survive in the Alps or Pyrenees but the L-B-L hills are in general under 3km and I reckon he can get by on them with his power.