Tour of Flanders winner Philippe Gilbert will ride for Belgian team Quick-Step Floors for an additional two years. The team announced the news Monday with team CEO Patrick Lefevere calling the Belgian “an important asset.”
Gilbert, 35, started the 2017 season on a one-year deal with Quick-Step after riding with BMC Racing for five years. He had a string of excellent results in the spring classics. After second-place finishes at Dwars door Vlaanderen and E3 Harelbeke, he won Ronde van Vlaanderen. Then, Gilbert won Amstel Gold Race despite a crash that injured his kidney.
“It was my dream to extend the contract, and I knew that after winning De Ronde and Amstel this would be possible,” Gilbert said. “I’m super happy to continue for two more years with Quick-Step Floors!”
Recently, the 2012 world champion withdrew from the Tour de France on stage 16 and did not finish Clasica San Sebastian, a race he won in 2011.
He has hinted that he’d like to try winning all five of cycling’s monument races. So far, he has won Il Lombardia, Flanders, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. That leaves Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo, two races that aren’t particularly suited to Gilbert’s strengths as more of a climber.
Nevertheless, he reemphasized his big ambitions: “It would be a dream come true to win races like Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo with this team. That’s also one of the reasons why I wanted to sign for two more years, to build up and increase my chances.”
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