Baller is as baller does. Philippe Gilbert repeats. Boom goes the dynamite.
Photo source: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/04/news/philippe-gilbert-repeats-at-amstel-gold-race_169132.
Gilbert, who has targeted next weekend’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège as his early season objective, seized command on the final climb after Rodriguez had made a vain attempt to go clear himself.
The first three home had overtaken Andy Schleck on the climb after the Luxembourg star had gone clear 11km from the finish but having looked set for victory he faded on the steep ascent.
His brother Frank fared worse as he and Swiss star Fabian Cancellara were held up 23km from the finish by a crash in front of them losing any chance of victory.Id.
More over at http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/amstel-gold-race-upt/results.
Video of the finale:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhM6u12vTVg[/youtube]
If this is any indication of the form Gilbert and Andy Schleck are going to carry into next week, oh my, is there ever going to be fireworks.
Video of the Frank Schleck and Fabian Cancellara crash:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyNPZQCjZKU[/youtube]
But for the crash, who knows? That’s racing, I guess. I can hardly wait for La Flèche Wallonne and Liège – Bastogne – Liège. This is going to be very good stuff.
Gilbert crushed himself. You see how he fell over the top tube after that effort? And how torqued he was up the hill? Man o man. PRO.
…phillipe gilbert = talks the talk, rides the ride…
i love the way they describe the crash – bing bing! yep, that’s bike racing.
Tony M. probably wishes that Frank ‘Love to Crash” Schleck was not there to help him out. On his own at least he would have been 2nd or worst case 3rd.
Gilbert has said that he wants to win all five monuments. I gotta say, at his age, with his versatility and the passion and heart that he shows, he’s got a shot. Oh, and a little luck never hurts…
…hey there, mikeweb…just today phillipe gilbert has announced his intention to wear ‘yellow’ in this years upcoming ‘le tour’…
…i assume initially he doesn’t mean ‘win the overall’ but wasn’t it eddy merckx himself who suggested that with the right training, monsieur gilbert could do just that…
Hey bgw! #1 GC at TdF? Who knows? He’s still pretty young…
As for the short term, he’s got his sights set on LBL, which would give him 2 of the 5 monuments. He’s the odds on favorite, but let’s see if he can avoid the fate of Cancellara. Hopefully his team is up to the task again – he got some HUGE help from them in Amstel. Jelle Vanendert especially was a major horse for him.