Gilbert: Yorkshire Worlds served as motivation after Tour de France disappointment

Vuelta a Espana stage 12
(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

A trio from the Alex Aranbaru fan club, in T-shirts bearing the legend '¡Aupa Alex!' stood beyond the finish line in Bilbao watching the finale of stage 12 of the Vuelta a España on a small television screen. "Venga, venga, venga," they cried as Aranburu and fellow chaser Fernando Barcelo closed to within touching distance of the lone leader in the final kilometre, but, deep down, they must have suspected their hopes were in vain. Philippe Gilbert doesn't often miss opportunities like this.

So it proved. Gilbert's win rate may no longer match his prodigious output at the turn of the decade, but when the occasion presents itself, the Belgian tends to hit the target. The wickedly steep slopes of the Alto de Arraiz seemed tailored to his talents and he duly ripped clear of the day's break a little under 2km from the summit. He dropped over the other side with a winning advantage, and though his buffer dropped steadily in the shadow of the mighty San Mamés stadium, he held on to claim victory by three seconds. Never in doubt.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.