With a boosted confidence after yesterday's strong performance in the Brabantse Pijl, Philippe Gilbert prepares to repeat his 2010 and 2011 victories in the Amstel Gold Race. Supported by an in-form Greg Van Avermaet, he spearheads a strong BMC team for the Dutch classic.

The Ardennes classics have always been the focal point for Philippe Gilbert during the spring, and this year is no different. After his fantastic 2011 season in which he gobbled all three of the hilly races, he return to his former glory after a disappointing performance last year.

After a difficult start to the season, he chose to skip one of his early-season objective, the Tour of Flanders, to prepare his major targets on the climbs in the Basque Country. His participation in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco turned out to be beneficial to his form and he looked like his former self in yesterday's Brabantse Pijl in which he was only beaten by a strong Peter Sagan (Cannondale).

The Slovakian will once again be his main rival on Sunday but Gilbert will try to exploit his experience on the narrow, twisting roads in the Limburg province. Besides his back-to-back victories in the Dutch classic, the finish of the race is the exact same as the one used in last year's world championships road race in which Gilbert took his first rainbow jersey.

This year, the final has been modified somewhat with the usual finish at the top of the Cauberg changed to include 1800 meters of flat roads after the climbs. While this should benefit Sagan, the final was the same in last year's world and thus Gilbert knows how to handle Sunday's challenge.

Furthermore, Gilbert will try to exploit the other half of BMCs strong duo for the race. Greg Van Avermaet is amazingly consistent and saved the first part of the classics season for the American team. Last Sunday, he was 4th in the Paris-Roubaix and with a 7th place in the Tour of Flanders and a 3rd in the Gent-Wevelgem, his form is certainly strong.

Yesterday, the duo tried to use their numerical advantage to deny Sagan a victory in the Brabantse Pijl, and they will probably try to do the same on Sunday. Furthermore, the likes of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) are thrown into the mix to further spice up the final.

With positioning key in the Amstel Gold Race, Gilbert and Van Avermaet will be supported a number of the team's strong riders from the cobbled classics. Marcus Burghardt, Klaas Lodewyck, Daniel Oss and Michael Schär will all make sure that the duo are well-placed in the peloton throughout the day. They are joined by climber Amael Moinard and Swiss champion Martin Kohler.

On Sunday, you can follow all the action from the Dutch roads on CyclingQuotes.com/live.