Philippe Gilbert has been crowned Best Rider of the Year by readers of our sister site Cyclingnews.com.
The Belgian classics specialist scored over half of the 20,000 plus votes cast to comfortably take the honours ahead of Tour de France winner Cadel Evans and world road champion and Tour green jersey winner Mark Cavendish.
Gilbert won 18 races this year, with the highlight being his 'triple' in the Ardennes classics and an amazing unbeaten run through until the start of July.
“I had that series from April 14 to July 2 without losing a race,” he told Cyclingnews in a video interview. “I think it was a record in cycling and I was very proud to do this long period with all the victories. Then, the yellow jersey and the first win in a stage of the Tour was a very special moment.”
After a late season success in the Grand Prix de Québec in September, Gilbert finished top of the WorldTour rankings, cementing his place as the number one rider in Cyclingnews readers' minds.
For full results of the poll, visit Cyclingnews.com.
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