Gilbert wouldn't settle for second

Belgians Philippe Gilbert (FDJ) and Stijn Devolder (Discovery) had the chance of their lives to win a major classic in Paris-Tours yesterday, but tactics dictated that they lost in the last 200 metres. The pair had escaped with 25 km to go, building up a one minute lead at one point that was whittled down to around 20 seconds with 2 km left. At 1 km, it was still 11 seconds, but Gilbert found himself leading Devolder all the way to the finish, and he naturally slowed down. The result: the bunch caught the duo with 200m to go and neither finished with a place.

Both were frustrated with the non-result, with Gilbert showing it with an internationally known one armed gesture aimed at Devolder just before the finish, and a can of coke hurled on the ground. "What should I have done?" asked Devolder. "I gambled and lost. If I'd known that we had just 11 seconds in the final kilometre, I would have done one more turn. We didn't understand each other well.

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