World champion optimistic about early-season form prior to classics.

Reigning world champion, Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team), has said that his form is much better at this time of the season compared to the same point last year, and he remains assured that he is on course to accomplish good results at the forthcoming spring classics.

The Belgian grappled with lack of form and results in the opening half of 2012 before rediscovering his form in the final weeks of the season to win the world championship road race, but now he feels he is on track for something great in an action-packed month of classics.

“The Tour of Oman was a good test for me, I felt good progress compared to the Tour Down Under,” Gilbert told La Dernière Heure of his early-season racing. “I’m happy with my current level. It’s nothing like the form I had last year at the same time.”

Gilbert continues his preparation for the spring classics by lining up at Paris-Nice, which begins on Sunday. Gilbert will assume a supporting role in Tejay van Garderen’s challenge for overall honours, but he will also be on the lookout for a stage win – his first in the rainbow jersey.

Although, by his own profession, Gilbert still needs to lose a couple of kilograms prior to the Ardennes classics, he repeated that he is satisfied with his current form as the classics loom on the horizon. He also noted that March form is a dependable indicator for what is to come during the subsequent month.

“I learned last year that you never make up for a setback early in the season. It takes months. You plug the gaps by the Tour, but not before it,” Gilbert said. “To go well in April and fight for the win at the Tour of Flanders or Liège, you need to be good already now, otherwise it’s a write-off. You can do what I did last year – show some sparks, get a placing – but at then Liège, I wasn’t in the mix.”