Philippe Gilbert in awe of this new generation: "We're witnessing full cycling mastery"

"This year was exceptional," Gilbert begins his reflection on the 2024 classics season. "Not only because of the names of the winners, which are impressive on their own, but especially because of the way they dominated the races." He highlights a few notable moments, such as Mathieu van der Poel's remarkable 60-kilometer solo in Paris-Roubaix and Tadej Pogacar's devastating attack on La Redoute in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"All that impressed me enormously and I thought it was fantastic to see," Gilbert continued. "It really was a stellar year, and we can even speak of full cycling mastery. This generation of attacking riders shows an enormous evolution: they have the guts to attack from far away and do so with the certainty that they can win. I only stopped two years ago, but it's already a completely different world."

The dominance of riders like Pogacar and Van der Poel raises questions about whether it diminishes the excitement of the races. Gilbert sees it differently: "That question is irrelevant to me," he says. "It’s up to the TV directors to maintain the suspense in a race. Look at the Tour of Lombardy: Pogacar executed a fantastic solo, but there was a lot happening behind him, which was barely shown. Directors need to adapt and bring more of the battle behind the leader into focus."

Gilbert believes there are plenty of ways to keep viewers engaged, even if the winner seems obvious. "As a commentator for Eurosport, it’s sometimes challenging to maintain tension when you know someone like Pogacar won’t simply fade or fall. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the race isn’t interesting. The camera should focus more on the fight for the other podium slots."

As a former world champion, Gilbert knows well what it’s like to wear the rainbow jersey. In 2012, he crowned himself world champion, but the following season, he struggled to live up to the title. "I was always there but rarely won. That’s the big difference with today’s champions. Van der Poel, Pogacar, Evenepoel and Van Aert — when they feel good and decide to attack, they don’t question themselves. Whether it’s 5, 50 or 100 kilometers from the finish, for them, it doesn’t matter."