Philippe Gilbert will not be at the start of the Flemish classics but he refuses the suggestion that Greg Van Avermaet's reluctance to lose his leadership role has anything to do with the decision. "Nobody has the right to demand anything from me," he says. Instead, the BMC riders will focus on the Giro, the Ardennes classics and Milan-Sanremo.

Philippe Gilbert will again skip the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix even though he expressed his desire to do them just a few weeks ago. "Those two classics are still missing on my palmares," Gilbert told Sporza.

"I have to take advantage of my explosiveness as long as possible. De Ronde and Roubaix are races that can also be won by a rider who older and less explosive." Instead, Gilbert turns his attention to the Ardennes classics, the Giro and Milan-Sanremo.

"For seven years, I have been talking about Milan-Sanremo. This year my chances are bigger because the finish line is again back on the Via Roma, just 2km from the bottom of the Poggio. If you can make a difference on the Poggio, you have a bigger chance to win.

"I also have the Giro on my mind. I want to win a stage and wear the leader's jersey in all three grand tours. I have already managed to do so in the Tour and the Vuelta. Only the pink jersey is still missing.

"If I had started De Ronde and Roubaix, I would have had to be in great shape which I would probably be unable to keep until the Giro. That's why it is better to concentrate on the Ardennes. The Giro starts two weeks after Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I have looked at the stages and I have a good chance to take the maglia rosa."

When Gilbert hinted his desire to do the Flemish classics, Greg Van Avermaet was anything but happy. But Gilbert claims that the displeasure of his teammate had no effect on his decision not to do De Ronde and Roubaix.

"That has nothing to do with it. Due to my status and my palmares, nobody in the team has the right to demand something for themselves at the expense of me. Nobody dares to do that. I see no problem if we go to the start together. I believe we will be stronger if we are both at the at start."