Interview with Philippe Gilbert: « Madiot calls me and says ‘kid, you’re going to do your first Liège-Bastogne-Liège' »

Do you have memories of your first Ardennes?

Philippe Gilbert: 2003! I had done Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I remember it very well because I tore my Achilles tendon in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, it was so cold. This is one of the most terrible editions we have experienced. It took me weeks to recover. I was recovering, I had resumed training more seriously and on the Wednesday of the Flèche Wallonne, I was on the side of the road to support the runners. Marc Madiot called me and said: « Kid, I have good news, Sunday you will do your first Liège-Bastogne-Liège« . I had gone to see La Flèche by bike and I had planned to return by car but I took the bike again to do another 2h30. My first participation in Liège is special.

When Marc calls, it must have been a shock…

PG: A bit of stress above all, I didn’t feel at all prepared, trained and up to it. It was special. It was the first time I did such a long race, my first Monument. I was quite stressed. I was able to follow until the second refueling more or less, which was not bad considering the circumstances, considering the training I had. It remains a good memory.

You have won the Amstel Gold Race four times and won the world championship on the same course. Why does it suit you so well?

PG: The Amstel suits me because it’s more technical, there are more repetitions, it’s always up and down. There is never really any rest and the climbs are never very long. In Liège, when you spend ten minutes of effort, I have a little more trouble compared to pure climbers who are often ten kilos lighter than me. With my weight, I am at a disadvantage. For example, in the Col du Rosier, I suffered a little more. In my best years I was of course passing but I think I was going a bit further in effort than some lighter climbers. The Amstel is played more forcefully, it’s shorter, that suits me well.

The best memory at the Amstel?

PG: The best is 2017. I had just won the Tour of Flanders, I had refused to do Paris-Roubaix in order to win the Amstel. I told the team that I didn’t want to risk going to Paris-Roubaix because I had big ambitions. It was also Tom Boonen’s last year. I knew I was in top form so I wanted to take advantage of it.

There was this famous fall almost 100 kilometers from the finish. I found myself on the ground, I was in a lot of pain. It took me almost two minutes to get up. I had great support from my teammates, Schachmann and Devenyns. They had brought me back into the peloton and as soon as I got back, I was back in front. Barely ten terminals further, I was in breakaway. We did 60 kilometers ahead but with the fall, my final lasted almost 100 terminals. This is called a great day, they are rare.

The post-race is also memorable…

PG: Yes, I ended up in the hospital because when I went to doping control, they noticed that I had blood in my urine. At the hospital where it was discovered that my renal envelope had been torn from the fall. Because of all these things, I also had the Belgian champion jersey on my back, this Amstel 2017 is very special.

Now let’s talk about the week of 2011 and this fabulous Amstel-Flèche-Liège treble…

PG: That was really my goal. I wanted to win against the Ardennes. I didn’t expect to win all four. It had started with the Flèche Brabançonne (the Wednesday before the Amstel) which I had won quite easily. I’m not going to say but easily because it would denigrate my opponents but easily. I had gained confidence for the Amstel, it had motivated everyone, the team. We did everything to perfection with a very strong team.

Usually we talk about the triple on the Ardennes, you add the Flèche Brabançonne for a quadruple…

PG: Yes. It was the only time in history that a rider won all four races in a row. It has never been done since. It was a feat so I think that’s why we have to talk about a quadruple and not a hat-trick.

How did you prepare this week?

PG: The weeks preceding this quadruple, I trained with Davide Rebellin who is the only runner, with me, who did the triple. I remember climbing the Col de la Madone at the end of training behind Monaco. We had climbed the pass fully, finished in a sprint. Neither of them wanted to let go. At the time, we didn’t have the means to measure the time of ascent but I think we had a very good climb. I think I couldn’t find a better training buddy for that time.

Then there was the Flèche Wallonne, a race where you only made one Top 10 (6th in 2010). You thought you could win it?

PG: This first Top 10 was a trigger for me. The previous year I had stumbled in the final. In 2010, I finished sixth and I felt there was a way to do better. I told myself that with more specific training on steep climbs and short efforts, there was a way to improve. I had worked more specifically.

What was your state of mind before La Flèche?

PG: As I had already won the two previous races and the team had done a huge job on the Amstel, I told the guys that the Flèche was not the objective, that it was rather Liège -Bastogne-Liège. The plan was not to ride a yard ahead of the pack. A breakaway started quickly, the gap increased. Everyone was waiting for us to come ride, nobody believed me when I said we wouldn’t. The Katushas of Joaquim Rodriguez started rolling but the gap was huge. Rodriguez had to burn almost his entire team to bring the peloton back.

30 kilometers from the finish, we started to control the race, just to keep the peloton together. Running like that allowed me to still have 3 or 4 team members in the last three kilometres. At the foot of the wall, I am second or third. I saved a lot of strength and that allowed me to win. I think tactically we played perfectly.

After this success, we can imagine a lot of pressure in Belgium…

PG: I had taken a small hotel, all alone in the Netherlands. I needed this. I stayed focused on my races. It was important. There was still a lot of pressure. During the reconnaissance, there were people to ride with us. Then the presentation of the teams in this marquee where it was 35 degrees. You had to sign 1000 autographs. It was stressful this moment for me, we are always afraid of getting sick.

On the morning of Liège, did you tell yourself that you had managed to conserve your energy?

PG: I was fine, I was a little nervous but I had a good night. Liege is a fairly simple race. Once the breakaway is gone, these are great roads… It’s even quite long, not much happens. The end resembled that of the Arrow, it was a little war with the Katusha. Valverde was absent because suspended. With him, it wouldn’t have been the same, he was a formidable opponent. I thought only Rodriguez could piss me off but in the end the brothers, Andy and Frank Schleck were the hardest to contain. Rodriguez ran badly, he didn’t have the legs.

Tell us about the ending.

PG: It happened in La Roche-aux-Faucons. We left in three with Andy and Frank, we took the breakaway. I was not in the best situation but knowing that they were not going fast in the sprint, I was confident. I had countered Frank at the top of Saint-Nicolas with the ambition of letting them go. It was a key moment, they doubted. Andy came back and started riding for his brother. It got easier, I only had one to watch. I knew that in the sprint, I was stronger than them. I was eager to start the sprint and win. I had to control my nerves, it was stressful.

How do you feel before these last Ardennes?

PG: Already last year I had great support at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It’s nice to run in front of an audience like that. For me it’s always a special week, I hear my name a lot on the side of the roads. There, it will be even more the case.