Philippe Gilbert's rivals in the Ardennes classics may have a reason to be worried. According to his sports director Yvon Ledanois, the Belgian BMC leader is in top condition for his preferred races.

"Gilbert is ready," the Frenchman told Het Nieuwsblad. "For me, he is even better than he was one year ago."

Gilbert is still waiting for his first victory in 2015 but according Ledanois it is not not far away. "Last week he was the very good in the Tour of the Basque Country. He was up there, not in the results sheet, but I saw him go up the climbs right behind the climbers. "Last year, Gilbert took his first wins in Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race after a difficult start.

Ledanois won't rule out that Gilbert can add his name to the Liège-Bastogne-Liège trophy for the second time. "There are maybe fifteen riders who can win and Gilbert is one of them. He is not the biggest favorite, but certainly a contender."

The 32-year-old rider won the race only in 2011 when he was nearly unbeatable and became the second rider to make win all three Ardennes classics in one year.