Philippe Gilbert is the best cyclist in the world

[mombus]

I don't remember the last time a rider was so untouchable in one-off events. Can anybody debate this?

 

[Master50]

I don't have him as the best cyclist but he is having a defining season. Maybe the best 1 day rider currently racing. He needs a little more time and wins to to be one of the all time greats and if he has another season like this has been that should be an easy feat.

 

[No_Balls]

Best 1 day racer in the world for sure.

 

[The Hitch]

I have him as 2nd behind Contador, and well in front of Cancellara whose in 3rd.

Only 6 months left till the moment weve all been waiting for though.

 

[taiwan]

More dominant on his parcours of specialisation than anyone but Contador. Possibly even better than Contador, depending on how the Tour plays out.

 

[Lanark]

More dominant on his parcours of specialisation than anyone but Contador. Possibly even better than Contador, depending on how the Tour plays out.

Depends on what you consider a parcours of specialisation, but Cancellara regularly wins prologues with over a second per kilometer on the number two.

 

[Richeypen]

More dominant on his parcours of specialisation than anyone but Contador. Possibly even better than Contador, depending on how the Tour plays out.

Surely Cav could argue with that. IMO you can simply not really compare. He is best at what he does in the same way Cav, Cancellara and Contador are.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

This is clearly an era of 4 riders: Gilbert (only this year), Contador, Cavendish & Cancellara
No one can beat them on their terrain.

 

[c&cfan]

Surely Cav could argue with that. IMO you can simply not really compare. He is best at what he does in the same way Cav, Cancellara and Contador are.

with the difference than both contador and canc are also dominating more than one specialization.

for example, gilbert is the best hilly rider, but canc in the best tter and the best cobbled rider.
contador the best climber, but he also is a pretty good tter and he has classics potential.

both have more endurence and maybe canc has more rec than phil.

also canc showed he can beat phil in a sprint.

gilbert is not the number one rider in the world in what talent is concerned, far from that.

but he and his team are getting really stronger since the last 2 years.

 

[taiwan]

Depends on what you consider a parcours of specialisation, but Cancellara regularly wins prologues with over a second per kilometer on the number two.

Actually I did forget about Cancellara in the TTs TBH.

I suppose what I meant was that right at the moment he seems more likely to win a race that suits him than anyone else. You could say that about Cancellara though - Martin still isn't quite there yet. Have to give Bert a pass too, as he was similarly untouchable in the Giro.The Tour may be different though. Cav hasn't had that fantastic a season, but he hasn't had the opportunities either. He was beaten by Petacchi but you could argue that sprint was dodgy. Less clear, slightly.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I have him as 2nd behind Contador, and well in front of Cancellara whose in 3rd.

Only 6 months left till the moment weve all been waiting for though.

The Tour de Ski climb of Alpe Cermis? I do love that.

 

[Carl0880]

I think along a different lines. Yes being able to dominate in the your speciality is one thing, bu what I take into account is your competitiveness all year round. Cavendish is the best sprinter in the world, but how many times do we see him not contest a sprint because he got caught out by a hill. In the last 2 years, outside of the Grand Tours, he has about 6 or 7 wins. For a sprinter that is not a lot. He has been the best at his specialization, but I haven't seen anything special that makes me go that is the best cyclist.

I watch Cancellara in the E3 come back from a 2 minute gap, by himself pass an entire field, and win easily. Eventhough he didn't win either cobbled classic, he was single handily the best in the field and the one who tried to win. I remember that flat stage in 07, where Canc single handly leapt out the peleton, cross to the break and held on to win the stage in front of the sprinters.

It was an uphill finish, but how many people thought he could win Fleche Wallone, the general consensus was it was too steep and long for him, and not only did he win it, but I could have landed a B-52 bomber in between him and J-Rod. Every race he enters, he has the possibility to win. He has finished on the podium in back to back years at T of Flanders.

I think Gilbert is a throwback to the times whenracers always wanted to win when they pinned on a number, not to ride for the purpose of training, maybe test themselves a stage or 2. Obviously Gilbert will not win a Grand Tour, but Ithink he could win a Paris-Nice, especially if he focuses on winning ToF next year since he got his Ardennes victory this year. Paris-Nice would be an excellent build up for him.

 

[dabaideschbi]

i hope he does not try to win the Tdf or races like Paris Nice! he should continue to try winning the classics! sanremo and flanders for example! i don't know why you guys want him to win the Tdf! i'ts impossible even with a good preparation! i mean classics are important like a Gt in my opinion so i hope he won't change anything in his preparation! he can have a lot of targets in the future!

 

[Carl0880]

i hope he does not try to win the Tdf or races like Paris Nice! he should continue to try winning the classics! sanremo and flanders for example! i don't know why you guys want him to win the Tdf! i'ts impossible even with a good preparation! i mean classics are important like a Gt in my opinion so i hope he won't change anything in his preparation! he can have a lot of targets in the future!

The ToF i typed was in reference to Tour of Flanders, I mentioned he was never going to win a Grand Tour.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Marianne Vos > Philippe Gilbert.

 

[c&cfan]

Marianne Vos > Philippe Gilbert.

of course...

and peterhansell>shumi.
what world?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I have him as 2nd behind Contador, and well in front of Cancellara whose in 3rd.

Only 6 months left till the moment weve all been waiting for though.

I thought it was only 4 weeks to your beloved Tour of Poland...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

of course...

and peterhansell>shumi.
what world?

The real world.

"Everything is Vos territory" - Ina-Yoko Teutenberg.

Vos is a World Champion on the road, on the track and in the field. She's won the Flèche Wallonne about 4 times, and top 5ed the Ronde van Vlaanderen practically every year. She's won some of the toughest short stage races out there (most notably the Emakumeen Bira, the female version of the Euskal Bizikleta), podiumed one of the toughest climbing races on the women's calendar (the Tour de l'Aude) and top 10ed the biggest stage race of the year (the Giro Donne), winning several stages in both (she is wearing the maglia rosa as we speak). She's won the overall World Cup repeatedly. She wins sprints, she wins on cobbles, she wins in the wind, she wins on bumpy terrain, she wins short sharp hills, she finishes near the top on climbs, she wins on the track and she wins cyclocross races.

Gilbert dreams of that versatility.

 

[jens_attacks]

Marianne Vos > Philippe Gilbert.

yep she is the best in her business:

phil is definitely one of the best right now.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

phil is definitely one of the best right now.

That, I will not argue with.

 

[theyoungest]

yep she is the best in her business:

phil is definitely one of the best right now.

She can cook too?

A bit sad really, the sexism of some neanderthal posters on this forum.

 

[Spine Concept]

The real world.

"Everything is Vos territory" - Ina-Yoko Teutenberg.

Vos is a World Champion on the road, on the track and in the field. She's won the Flèche Wallonne about 4 times, and top 5ed the Ronde van Vlaanderen practically every year. She's won some of the toughest short stage races out there (most notably the Emakumeen Bira, the female version of the Euskal Bizikleta), podiumed one of the toughest climbing races on the women's calendar (the Tour de l'Aude) and top 10ed the biggest stage race of the year (the Giro Donne), winning several stages in both (she is wearing the maglia rosa as we speak). She's won the overall World Cup repeatedly. She wins sprints, she wins on cobbles, she wins in the wind, she wins on bumpy terrain, she wins short sharp hills, she finishes near the top on climbs, she wins on the track and she wins cyclocross races.

Gilbert dreams of that versatility.

She has won two out of the three stages raced up to this point in the Giro Donne. I wonder how many more she will take before the end of said stage race. She's one up on Gilbert If it were judged in a unisex manner, Vos would definitely be the best racer on the planet.

To address the posed statement, Gilbert is indeed the best racer in his terrain at the moment. No two ways about it. However, I would have loved to see him racing against a top Valverde and see how that plays out. I can't wait for Sagan to develop a bit more and start challenging Gilbert, which I'm certain is well within his capabilities. His potential is scary, more so than Gilbert.

 

[jens_attacks]

She can cook too?

A bit sad really, the sexism of some neanderthal posters on this forum.

don't take it serious dude.it's just libertine fault.he is such a hipster all the timeand that piszes me off.

plus i'm more with noemi and tatiana

 

[Libertine Seguros]

don't take it serious dude.it's just libertine fault.he is such a hipster all the timeand that piszes me off.

plus i'm more with noemi and tatiana

You know my kind of rider. I'm more about Mara, Emma and Claudia than Marianne.

But there's no getting around it: Marianne is better than them.

 

[Andre.J]

I don't remember the last time a rider was so untouchable in one-off events. Can anybody debate this?

Agreed. He is number one!!!!!!!!