Philippe Gilbert will remain in BMC colours for the next three seasons. Although his old contract was still valid until 2014, he chose to re-sign for another two years.

“We are pleased to announce that Philippe has extended his contract through the 2016 season,” team president Jim Ochowicz said. “After the Tour de France, he will focus on the one-day races and the defense of his world championship title. Our future years together offer many opportunities to capture victories in his favourite races.”

Gilbert still has several goals: “I made the decision to re-sign a few weeks ago. Most important for me are the classics,” he said. “We have a really strong team for this, so I will focus on them in the future. The one-day races are my specialty.”

Defending his rainbow jersey is something that’s in the world champion’s mind: “For sure it's a big goal,” he said. “I’m already starting to think about this. My ambition is to finish this Tour with good condition and then go to the Vuelta and come better again. I have it as an objective, and I hope to reach it; then I’ll go for the classics again next year.”