First career prologue win for Gilbert in ZLM Toer

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BMC's Philippe Gilbert is accustomed to winning, but one thing was missing on his palmares: a victory in a stage race prologue. That all changed in the opening stage in the ZLM Toer, when Gilbert topped Garmin-Sharp neo-pro Dylan van Baarle by half a second in the 7.2km test to win and don the first yellow jersey of the race.

Albert Timmer (Giant-Shimano) in third and Steve Lammertink (Cycling Team Jo Piels) were both within one second of Gilbert.

"It was a special day," Gilbert said. "I had to really keep my focus because there were so many distractions." The race was halted two separate times during the course of the afternoon, first to allow emergency vehicles to reach a home that had caught fire, and again when Topsport Vlaanderen's Kenneth Van Bilsen collided with a spectator.

"For the prologue you have to eat at the right moment and warm-up at the right moment," Gilbert said. "So it was hard for me to stay focused. But I think I was going really fast at the beginning and was able to hold on to the finish. It was really close."

Gilbert now leads the race by a second over four riders - including Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) who came in fifth. A two-time winner of the overall ZLM Toer, Gilbert now has an advantage in a race that normally comes down to very small margins of victory.

"It is always close," Gilbert said. "I know every second counts at this race. I am really happy to be leading, but it is not a big objective to keep the jersey. But I really need to have it after we have the Ardennes stage on Saturday."

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