There are birthday parties and then, well, there are birthday parties. It’s safe to say that at this year’s Tour de France Philippe Gilbert will celebrate one that he will never forget.
Born on July 5, Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal) is accustomed to celebrating his birthday on the roads of the Tour rather than at home with his family, and this year celebrates his 40th as the race reaches France for the first time.
Gilbert’s perfect late birthday gift would be a win on Wednesday’s stage five though; the long-awaited cobblestone stage. After all, he won the iconic Paris-Roubaix over many of these same cobbles just three years ago in 2019. That win was in many ways the crowning achievement of his long and storied career, one in which he won four of cycling’s five Monuments as well as the world championships over an incredible 20 years in the pro ranks.
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Today Gilbert is far and above the most successful active Classics rider, boasting four Amstel Gold Race titles, two Il Lombardia victories as well the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Only Milan-San Remo—the race he seemed suited to win—managed to slip from his grasp. And while the great Italian Classic was a main focus in the final years of his career, these last years have been complicated for Gilbert.
First there were the crashes in the 2018 and 2020 Tours de France, both of which required long recoveries, and then there was Covid. Sure the pandemic was complicated for everyone, but for a veteran like Gilbert it was particularly hard. Gilbert thrived on the crowds throughout his career. For such riders, the lack of fans in the past seasons made it even harder to focus.
The Belgian is clearly savouring the fans at the start of this year’s Tour, and even his own ‘Phil-Gil’ fans were clearly visible in Denmark.
“I’m just so happy to see the fans again. And to see things back to normal a bit,” Gilbert told Rouleur before the start of stage two in this year’s race.
“Racing in the Tour is important for everyone, but I really wanted to be here this year. I haven’t had a good Tour for a long time and I really wanted to come here and finish on a high note.”
With the race returning to the northern roads of France on Tuesday, Gilbert will be in his…