Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne, and now Liege-Bastogne-Liege. The Ardennes Triple. The first Belgian to accomplish the feat. And I admit to have forgotten, Gilbert also won Brabantse Pijl, a race only somewhat below the other three in standing, just prior to taking his victories in the big three. Not Maertens, DeVlaeminck, van Impe, van Looy, Criquielion, Planckaert, Vanderaerden, Museeuw, van Petegem, Boonen, nor any of the other greats of Belgian cycling. And yes, that means not even Eddy Merckx. Philippe Gilbert clearly came into the spring campaign prepared. He is just so incredibly strong, and after a well-deserved period of rest, I would really like to see what he could do in some of the summer Tours. It has been a while since we have seen someone who could compile wins over a full season. It certainly seems as though Gilbert has the ability. He has taken stage wins in all three major Tours over the past three years. This has already been an exciting racing season, and I will be very interested to see how it progresses from here.
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