This historic milestone was reached in Paris-Roubaix, were Philippe Gilbert triumphed for the first time in his career.
Philippe Gilbert wrote another page of history on Sunday afternoon, at the 117th edition of Paris-Roubaix, one of the only two Monuments missing from the Belgian’s palmares. The 36-year-old Belgian was one of the main protagonists of the race, attacking 60 kilometers from home and forcing a selection, before putting the hammer down two more times and riding away with one more rider, which he outsprinted on the legendary Roubaix velodrome.
World Champion in 2012, Philippe became just the ninth rider in history to boost wins in four different Monuments: Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Il Lombardia. His victory will always be remembered and have a special place in the Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s trophy cabinet, having been the 700th scored by the team since 2003.
Of the 156 riders that have sported the colours of the team, 89 different riders have directly contributed to this staggering amount in the nearly two decades that have passed since the team was launched. Of these victories, 19 are Monuments, 55 came in the shape of general classification triumphs, 88 were scored in Grand Tour stages and four at the World TTT Championships – where our squad also holds the all-time record.
Under the guidance of Patrick Lefevere, the bona fide admiral at the helm of the Deceuninck – Quick-Step battle ship, the team became one of the most successful not only in modern day cycling, but in the history of the sport, one that topped the victory classification at the end of each of the past seven years and which since March 2018 has spent an astonishing 53 consecutive weeks at the lead of the UCI World Team Ranking.
