Finally for Philippe Gilbert! The Walloon won the 3rd stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk this Thursday during an uphill sprint between Péronne and Mont-Saint-Éloi. He overtook event leader Jason Tesson and Julien Simon. His last victory was on September 11, 2019 and the 17th stage of the Tour of Spain, a wait of 966 days. At the time, the Belgian was still riding for the Deceuninck-Quick Step team.
“It had been a very, very, very long time since I had won, but that’s fine, I hadn’t forgotten how you raise your arms”, laughed Gilbert following crossing the line, who now thinks of the general, “we’ll see How is the Kassel stage going on Saturday which will determine the general classification with a repetition of difficulty. But we have a strong team with a lot of riders placed so I am confident.”
After a complicated period of classics, Gilbert achieved a first success for his last season as a professional. This is already the 13th success for the Lotto Soudal team since the start of the season.
<<< To read also: the tribute of the relatives of Philippe Gilbert for his last season >>>