Philippe Gilbert finished ninth in the World Championships in Florence yesterday and could not defend his rainbow jersey. Ultimately the tough course and the bad weather proved the game breakers for Gilbert, who also suffered from the repeated attacks launched by the best climbers in the front group.

"I can respond if the climbers attack once or even twice, but at the attack I can no longer reply in kind," said Gilbert when analysing Sunday’s events for Het Nieuwsblad.

"It was really difficult. When the best climbers broke away, including a couple of Spaniards, there was no doubt. I can respond to attacks once or twice but I cannot respond to accelerations indefinitely. The organization in the group of pursuers was not bad but we could not bridge the gap. We rode at a high pace to survive because we could barely stand the pain [and wanted it to end]," said the former world champion.

"I had expected an aggressive game plan from the Italians. There were lots of falls, even in the front of the race. It was very dangerous. Fortunately, I was always in an Italian wheel, which proved to be the best choice. The [Belgian] team was good. I had to make use of my team mates early in the race and even though they told me that they were broken, they still wanted to do something. It was a pity that I had to use them so early in the race,” Gilbert concluded.