Following a month away from racing, BMC Racing Team’s Philippe Gilbert makes his return Wednesday at the Tour of Belgium, one of two stage races he won last year.
 |
Gilbert said he enjoyed a break from racing after registering his top four performances of the season in his last four races of his spring campaign – including third at Flèche Wallonne. “It was good for me to spend one month at home, to be able to work hard and start a new base and build new form and condition,” the Belgian national road and time trial champion said.
BMC Racing Team Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said key stages in the five-day race are the last two: Saturday’s 20.5-kilometer time trial and a 212 km race Sunday that includes some of the climbs from Flèche-Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “The time trial is totally flat and almost without curves – something for a specialist – while the last day will be selective,” Lelangue said.
“We’ll also have to be careful because of the wind. Normally it’s a perfect race for the sprinters. But we’ll have to make sure we don’t get caught in a split with the wind.”
Gilbert said the time trial makes repeating a victory a tall order. “I know against the time trial specialists, I will lose time,” he said. “The last stage is tricky in the area of Huy, so if I see that I can’t aim for the general classification, I will try to win a stage.”
