That Philippe Gilbert is an Ardennes specialist is well-known. However, the BMC rider wants to prove themselves in the Flemish classics. And if that's impossible at BMC, he will search for another team.

Gilbert has a grat palmares with his wins in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne. In the last few years, he has been asked by his team to focus fully on the Ardennes while teammate Greg Van Avermaet has been the leader on the cobbles. However, that has to change, according to the Belgian star.

"Before I retire, I want to focus everything on De Ronde and Paris-Roubaix at least one more time," he said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "If I don't, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

"A second Liège-Bastogne-Liège or a fourth Amstel Gold Race will not change anything in my palmares. A victory in one of the two Flemish top classics would. That would make it complete. My contract with BMC runs until the end of 2016. Whether my current team is willing to allow me to follow that plan? I hope so. If not, then I will consider a team that will allow me to be the absolute leader for those races."