Philippe Gilbert dreamed about claiming the pink jersey in the opening stages of the Giro d'Italia after his race program for 2015 had been revealed, but such ambitions seem to be unrealistic following his heavy Fleche Wallonne crash. Still, the BMC Racing rider is happy to participate in the Italian grand tour for the fourth time in his career, and hopes that his presence along with Jurgen Van den Broeck and Tom Boonen will attract more Belgian cycling enthusiasts to follow the race.

Even though Gilbert is recovering from injuries sustained in the Fleche Wallonne crash, he admits that his form is still far away from being optimal. The situation negatively affects his ambitions to fight for the early leadership in the Giro and the pink jersey – the only jersey from grand tour events which the Belgian rider is still missing.

„It's [injured knee] much better than in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but still not 100 percent fit,” Gilbert revealed in the interview for Sporza. „I do not know what I'm really capable of, so I'm going to take it day by day. If an opportunity arises but I still suffer from pain, I will have to wait. The Giro is long, though, so there is no need to panic. Hopefully I can perform well.”

„With the problems I currently experience, it's not logical to keep it as main objective. It's not possible. We have a strong team, though, and we're going to evaluate after the team time trial who's up there.”

Just like his fellow countryman Van den Broeck, the BMC Racing rider admitted that Giro d'Italia is much quieter than the Tour, expressing his admiration for beautiful Italian roads and favorable weather conditions.

„I like riding here. It's quieter than the Tour, roads are technical and very beautiful, also the weather suits me.”

Gilbert was also pleased to noticed that another top Belgian riders will line up at the start of the season's first grand tour, hoping that it will provide the event with bigger publicity in their country.