Despite the fact that he is yet to seal his first win of the season, reigning world road champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) remains poised about his abilities and said that defending his title in Florence in September is the main objective of his season when Cyclingquotes met him prior to the 5th stage of the Tour de Suisse in Buoch.

This week, Gilbert lines up for a strong BMC team at the Tour de Suisse, which was a late addition to his programme. Initially scheduled to ride the Ster ZLM Toer in Holland, the early birth of his second child meant that Gilbert was eventually available for the Swiss stage race.

The parcours at the Tour of Switzerland is rather mountainous this year but Gilbert is hopeful of snatching a stage win nonetheless.

“I feel good and my condition is good. I worked well over these last few weeks and I’ve trained a lot in accordance with the plans I’ve made with the team,” Gilbert said. “I’m not really too worried about not having clinched a victory while wearing the rainbow jersey. I have come quite close on a number of occasions and that’s an indication that my form is good and that my preparations have gone according to plan. Sometimes it’s just minor things that separate you from a win.”

He may not have swept all before him this year as he nearly did in his all-conquering 2011 season, but Gilbert has been a lot closer to the action than he was during the first half of the 2012 season. His best results are second on a stage in Paris-Nice, second in Brabantse Pijl and third in the Tour of Belgium. In addition he finished fifth at Amstel Gold Race and seventh at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Rainbow jersey draws attention

The fans adore and admire Gilbert's explosive finishes as much as his opponents fear and loathe them. Wearing the rainbow jersey, explained Gilbert, has hampered his chances of completing one of his volatile escapes.

“I don’t think I’ve lost any of my ability to break clear from the peloton,” Gilbert explained. “It’s just a question of everybody watching the world champion, so when I attempt to jump there’s always someone wanting to ride on my coattails and that makes it a lot more difficult to create a gap to the peloton. This [rainbow] jersey tends to attract a lot of attention. Besides, I’ve spent many races working for my teammates and you can’t really ask a rider to work hard all day for the GC rider on the team and subsequently expect him to perform well in the finales.”

It is often said that success breeds success but Gilbert has no worries that the reverse might also be true and that his self-confidence might falter as his winless streak is prolonged.

“It’s true that your confidence gets a boost for every win you take but I’ve been in this kind of situation before so I’m pretty calm. Last year I also had a quiet beginning to the season but then I won two stages at the Vuelta and I won the world championships. Together with the team I will plan the remaining part of the season and then we’ll see. I might do the Vuelta again as preparation for my title defence.”

Asked if he would participate in this year’s Tour de France, Gilbert was non-committal in his reply.

“I would like to ride the Tour de France but of course it’s a decision that ultimately lies with the team management. We have two very strong contenders for the overall classification in Cadel Evans and Tejay van Garderen and the team will select a group of riders they deem fit to support that couple in the best manner possible. As I stated before, I might do the Vuelta a España again this year to prepare for the worlds. It’s a decision I’ll make in full cooperation with the team.”

Looking to the future

Since World War II only 4 riders have successfully defended their title as world road champion (Rik Van Steenbergen, Rik Van Looy, Gianni Bugno and Paolo Bettini). Gilbert is keen to add his name to that illustrious list and thus keep a stranglehold on his present tunic. Asked to judge if the exacting nature of the Florence route gives him cause for optimism, Gilbert said it was too early to make predictions.

“You will have to come back with that question in three months’ time,” he said. “It’s too early to tell and I haven’t studied the route in any significant detail as of yet. In cycling three months is a long time and a series of things may occur to disrupt my plans and preparations or those of my rivals. Therefore it is nigh on impossible at this juncture to rate my chances of a successful title defence though that is my next big goal, of course. Generally speaking, however, it’s true that a rigorous route might work to the advantage of a rider with my characteristics. By default, my main rivals will be riders that also benefit from such a parcours. Nibali will certainly be an adversary to be wary of.”

Looking at the longer perspective, Gilbert said that winning Cycling’s 5 Monument might constitute a future goal for him even if it may entail a different approach if he is to land the three Monuments still eluding him.

“Surely, winning the 5 Monuments of cycling would be a dream, but it would entail a different strategy than the one I’ve been following so far in my career. The Cobblestone Classics are quite different in nature from the Ardennes Classics and so far I haven’t really targeted them [the Cobblestone Classics]. In some respects they are more undulating and more of a stamina test compared to the more hilly Ardennes Classics but, of course, being Belgian the Tour of Flanders in particular is a race that I would truly love to win."