In fact, last week he already rode his last meters as a professional cyclist. At the beginning of his career, in 2008 and 2009, he crossed the finish line with his hands raised at Paris-Tours, last week he crossed the finish line anonymously as 27th. But with the smile that has shaped him over the years.

Philippe Gilbert, now 40, knew his farewell party was yet to come. And although he hails from Remouchamps at the foot of Liège-Bastogne-Liège’s eye-catcher, the Côte de la Redoute, he made a conscious choice to celebrate his farewell in Valkenburg.

Because there, in the steep curve of the Cauberg, he placed his splitting attack so often. “I’ve had a lot of great victories here,” Gilbert tells 1Limburg. “Above all, of course, my world title. In 2010 I won my first Amstel Gold Race out of four here. I’ve always had a lot of emotions here. at me with the car. I like to be here.”

The love is mutual. On the occasion of his farewell, the Municipality of Valkenburg unveiled a special plaque in the Municipal Cave of Valkenburg, which houses a bicycle gallery. This tunnel is located just below the bend of the Cauberg. “It’s an honor to stand up against the wall,” said Gilbert.

His last season as a professional cyclist must have felt like a big farewell tour. His biography (‘Phil’) will soon be on the shelves, a Belgian film crew has been following him for years for a documentary (‘Classique Gilbert’) and then there were all the farewell interviews.

At every major race, Gilbert seemed to be in the spotlight. With good reason, because the Waal was successful in almost every race. It all started with a stage win at the 2004 Tour Down Under as a 21-year-old on the training team at France’s Française des Jeux.

Thanks to overall victory at the Four Days of Dunkirk in May, he ended his long career with 80 wins.

Monumental Cyclist

In his early years, Gilbert developed into a world-class puncher, with a fearsome finishing shot when sprinting out of a breakaway group. An attacker purely sang.

Omloop Het Volk, the opening race of the Flemish Spring, was the first classic on his record in 2007 and 2008. And it was just a haircut when he had already won Milan-Sanremo as a 25-year-old. Gilbert attacked at the Poggio, was retrieved and was unable to stop Fabian Cancellara from escaping in the last kilometer.

His third place seemed like a harbinger of future victories at La Primavera. But it didn’t come.

Especially in the fall of his career, Gilbert was constantly reminded of that one blind spot on his roll of honor. Had he won Milan-Sanremo, he would have become the fourth cyclist ever, after compatriots Rik Van Looy, Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx, to bear all five monuments of his name.

Gilbert has to settle for four. Only six riders have done that for him, including Hennie Kuiper.

In 2009 and 2010 he won the Tour of Lombardy. And then his miracle spring 2011 was to come. Within a month Gilbert won Strade Bianche, Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race, Walloon Arrow and his home race Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

As his sharp uphill attack slowed, Gilbert turned to the bouldering classics. He joined Patrick Lefevere’s team, who have always been the cobblestone rulers, and soon found success. In 2017 Gilbert won the Tour of Flanders and in 2019 he struck at Paris-Roubaix.

“Now it’s all about Sanremo, but the pressure will increase. Because everyone knows it’s the only classic I have yet to win,” Gilbert said at the time in his charming Flemish with French undertones. “But first there are still great races to be won. Like next week: Appointment in the Amstel.”

A fifth victory in the Amstel Gold Race after that (2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017) remained missing, just as this fifth monument remained a dream. Nevertheless, the Cauberg will always remain a little bit the mountain of “Phil”.

Because that’s where Gilbert drove to the world title in 2012. Only this year was he replaced by a compatriot when Remco Evenepoel took power in Wollongong. “That was the high point of my career,” says Gilbert today. “My whole family, all my friends were on the pitch. And to win as a top favourite, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Gilbert did his final laps of honor at this World Cup circuit today alongside Fabio Jakobsen, Niki Terpstra, Thor Hushovd, André Greipel, Axel Merckx and Johan Van Summeren and many, many others.

No “fat neck”

Despite all his successes, the sociable and communicative Gilbert could never be caught with a “thick neck” (a Flemish term for arrogance). In recent years, Gilbert has also been a cyclists’ representative in the cyclists’ union. Loved in the peloton, loved by the fans.

Though the old body no longer lived up to its own expectations, the sparkle in his eyes was never far away when he spoke to Gilbert. Also this spring, shortly before his last Amstel Gold Race.

The question was why exactly this match suits him so well. “The climbs are short but powerful. That’s who I am as a person.” Gilbert has endured quite a long time as a cyclist.