Philippe Gilbert enjoyed Brabantse Pijl where he could give his teammate Ben Hermans a chance to win. He is satisfied with his condition as he goes into the Ardennes tripctych.

"Ben is a hard worker for the team. I'm happy that he won and I'm glad I could get on the podium," Philippe Gilbert told Sporza. "Matthews was much faster in the final sprint than me, but I had to swerve."

"I knew after the Basque Country that my condition is good. I'm where I should be. My biggest competitor for the Amstel? Rodriguez. And maybe someone who has ridden Roubaix, like Sagan [who won't ride, ed.].

"I have the legs to win again, but I have to get through the race. In our sport a lot can happen and everything should turn out perfectly in my favor.

"On the Cauberg I'm maybe the fastest, but there must be no wind. If it's a headwind, we might get a sprint and then Matthews is hard to beat after a hard race."