Philippe Gilbert won the final classification of the 4 days of Dunkirk. The Belgian rider did not take part in the final sprint of the last stage, he preferred to hang on to Naessen and Sterwart, the two riders who could still overtake him overall.
Gerben Thijssen won the last stage of the 4 days of Dunkirk in a sprint. Beyond the result, the final victory went to Philippe Gilbert who was happy on arrival. The Lotto rider focused on his opponents rather than another stage victory.
“I stayed around Stewart et Naessen and I didn’t really care about the sprint. I didn’t want to be in front of them and be trapped. I’d rather be behind and watch them.” Gilbert said in the interview.
After two years without a win and having struggled quite a bit with injuries, Philippe won his 80th professional victory when he retired at the end of the season.
“It’s nice, because I’ve been struggling for two years, with the covid and my broken knee. I had difficult moments and I wanted to finish my career at the highest level by winning races. I have always worked and I have not stopped. I’m glad it paid off, because I’ve been through some rather difficult classics. On the shorter races, I found good feelings and I’m happy.“
In a few weeks, it’s the Tour de France. A Tour where he could be present: “For the Tour, there is nothing decided, we will see later“, concluded Philippe Gilbert.