Is Philippe Gilbert Doping?

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

What happened to him between 2012 and 2016?

He was on a cushy contract with BMC and didn't need to work.

 

[Saint Unix]

Me watching today's race.

 

[Netserk]

Let's hope the Ardennes will be ridiculous in the same entertaining way. Great season so far!

 

[the delgados]

Ha!
That was indeed a hilarious spectacle.
I tuned in with 100 km's to go and wondered why Gilbert was hammering at the front before the Muur.
Then he and Tommeke had a few words before the start of the climb and Gilbert switched into overdrive.
Gilbert basically won this race solo from 100 km's out.
That is definitely not normal.

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

What happened to him between 2012 and 2016?

He was on a cushy contract with BMC and didn't need to work.

Different Doctor too

 

[Netserk]

Icarus has found his wings again

 

[trucido]

That Kwaremont ascent that split the group was something else.

 

[Brullnux]

I think we need to accept that doping makes for much more interesting and spectacular. I, for one, welcome it with open arms. Especially in classics.

 

[Irondan]

Re:

I think we need to accept that doping makes for much more interesting and spectacular. I, for one, welcome it with open arms. Especially in classics.

It's too hard not to be excited when racing is as good as it was today.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re: Re:

What happened to him between 2012 and 2016?

He was on a cushy contract with BMC and didn't need to work.

Different Doctor too

But surely not better than mad Max...the doc behind LA 1.0...

 

[Forever The Best]

Extremely strong. I think he would have won even if they hadn't gone all out from the Muur. He did what, paced the peloton before the Muur, made the split, worked a lot before Kwaremont and then just crushed Vanmarcke et al. Then he kept his pace all the way to Kwaremont and even though he slowed down in the end it was a ridiculous ride!
But boy, he is extremely entertaining to watch when he is on form. Today was why he is one of my favourite riders!

 

[dlwssonic]

As our old pal Lance Armstrong would say back in the day,

"Not normal."

 

[Gung Ho Gun]

Funny how this thread was started in response to Cancellara. 6 years later, and Gilbert completes the 50km solo in Vlaanderen that Fabian tried and failed back in 2011, two weeks before this thread. Full circle.

 

[tukabel]

Re: Re:

I think we need to accept that doping makes for much more interesting and spectacular. I, for one, welcome it with open arms. Especially in classics.

It's too hard not to be excited when racing is as good as it was today.

Yet, Gewiss-Quickstep needed a spectator (?) cooperation to fulfill the stated main goal of Peeters: ensure that Sagan loses.

 

[HelmutRoole]

Re: Re:

I think we need to accept that doping makes for much more interesting and spectacular. I, for one, welcome it with open arms. Especially in classics.

It's too hard not to be excited when racing is as good as it was today.

Yet, Gewiss-Quickstep needed a spectator (?) cooperation to fulfill the stated main goal of Peeters: ensure that Sagan loses.

Looked like Sagan clipped s banner.

 

[hfer07]

Re:

What happened to him between 2012 and 2016?

he didn't have the proper backup - IOW -before the BMC switch, McQuaid was running the UCI while HIS SON was Gilbert's manager. there

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

I think we need to accept that doping makes for much more interesting and spectacular. I, for one, welcome it with open arms. Especially in classics.

It's too hard not to be excited when racing is as good as it was today.

Yet, Gewiss-Quickstep needed a spectator (?) cooperation to fulfill the stated main goal of Peeters: ensure that Sagan loses.

Sagan just rode into the barriers. Gilbert would likely have won anyway, or even GvA.

 

[kingjr]

Re:

As our old pal Lance Armstrong would say back in the day,

"Not normal."

How do we know what's normal though.

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

What happened to him between 2012 and 2016?

He was on a cushy contract with BMC and didn't need to work.

Different Doctor too

But surely not better than mad Max...the doc behind LA 1.0...

Who knows how these quacks truly operate. Gilbert might have taken 3 years off the harder stuff to give his body a break or conceive children, who knows!

Could be even be a motor, anything is possible in the circus of pro cycling!

 

[hrotha]

Re: Re:

As our old pal Lance Armstrong would say back in the day,

"Not normal."

How do we know what's normal though.

If it looks like today, it ain't normal.

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

As our old pal Lance Armstrong would say back in the day,

"Not normal."

How do we know what's normal though.

Exactly. What is normal in pro cycling? Normal is doping.

 

[luckyboy]

Pretty sure he's just motivated because of Contract Year!1!! guys

 

[TeflonDub]

After the Taaienberg, GVA/Sagan/Naesen set off and seemed to be working well in pursuit of Gilbert. If the TV splits are to be believed, Gilbert has a 59" lead at that point (36.0kms to go). By the time Gilbert approached the Kruisberg at 28.9kms, 7kms of organized pursuit by an elite group had eaten a full 2" into Gilbert's lead.

Okey-dokey.

Edited: it was Van Baarle/Fellini that was 59" back at that point. GVA/Sags/Naesen 1'14" back at 35.1km. Van Baarle/Fellini caught and gap at 32.5km to Gilbert was 59". So Gilbert only lost 2" to the GVA/Sags train in the next 3.5kms. Still fairly amazing.

 

[roundabout]

That could have been the gap to van Baarle and Felline though

Edit; because of Boonen's problems a lot of the Taaienberg was missed, but from what was showed, the main group started the cobbled part nearly 90 seconds behind, so it's rather unlikely that Sagan et al were much closer at the top

 

[TeflonDub]

Re:

That could have been the gap to van Baarle and Felline though

Edit; because of Boonen's problems a lot of the Taaienberg was missed, but from what was showed, the main group started the cobbled part nearly 90 seconds behind, so it's rather unlikely that Sagan et al were much closer at the top

Ah, I think you're right, my bad. I'll look at it again.