Feb 10, 2010
Philippe Gilbert is known amongst cycling fans & riders as a fantastic rider and great guy.
Philippe is a Belgian rider who is currently riding for Pro Cycling Team – Omega Pharma-Lotto. He turned professional in 2003 with French Française des Jeux (FDJeux.com) professional cycling team and stayed with them for six years.
Whilst riding for FdJ Philippe had many successful race & stage wins, including a win at the prestigious Omloop Het Volk twice & the Classic, Paris-Tours.
In 2009 Philippe transferred to the Belgian Silence-Lotto team (now Omega Pharma-Lotto) and finished the season with winning the Giro di Lombardia, Coppa Sabatina, Gran Piemonte & repeating his win at the Paris-Tours.
Philippe is currently resides in Monaco with his Fiancée Patricia, with the wedding planned for August 2010.
2010 looks to be a very exciting year for Philippe both professionally & privately.
602nds was pleased that Philippe took a little time out of his busy schedule to answer few questions. Hope you all enjoy this 602nds interview with Philippe Gilbert.
602nds: What is your personal cycling goal for 2010?
Philippe: My first goal is Milan-San Remo and all one days’ races.
602nds: Is there one race that you would like to win before you retire from cycling?
Philippe: My dream is to one day win Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
602nds: There is talk about you being a favorite at the 2010 World Championships in Melbourne, What do you think your chances are on the Melbourne/Geelong course?
Philippe: The worlds, I don’t know very well the circuit I see it on DVD and for me its difficult to see how much I have chance to win!
602nds: How different is training for the Tour de France then training for the Classics? Do you do anything different?
Philippe: The preparations are very different, but all riders make different preparations. It’s a very long discussion because we have a lot of different parameters to look at before having an idea on how to train.
602nds: I’ve seen for myself at the start of races that the fans & journalists all want to talk to you, take photos & autographs. How distracting is this? And how do you switch off and focus on the race ahead?
Philippe: For me it is not always easy to be accessible before the start, because when it’s a important race I am concentrating, and I look all the details before the start. So I am more closed before the start.
602nds: You are very highly respected by the peleton, journalists & fans. In 2009 you won Belgian Sportsman of the year, Flandrien of the year, “Crystal Bike” award, 2009 Trofee voor Sportverdienste & trophy of the l’Association Internationale des Journalistes de Cyclisme. How does this make you feel?
Philippe: I receive a lot of distinctions; it’s always a pleasure and a motivation.
602nds would like to thank Philippe for taking the time to answer our questions and wishes him all the best for the 2010 cycling season.
Check out Philippe’s website to keep updated with the latest news (the website is in French but can be translated into English using Google Translate).
Photo Courtesy of Kristof Ramon
Visit Kramon’s Flickr gallery for more images