first stage in a Grand Tour by winning the 20th stage of the Giro d'Italia and won a stage and the overall classification of the Ster Elektrotoer. Later in the season he repeated his Paris–Tours win, attacking on the last climb with Tom Boonen and Borut Božič before outsprinting them to the line. A week later, he also won the prestigious Giro di Lombardia after escaping from the peloton with Samuel Sánchez, beating him to the finish by a half-length. It was his fourth victory in 10 days after also winning the Coppa Sabatini and Giro del Piemonte. At the end of the season he was awarded the Flandrien of the Year award, recognising him as the best Belgian rider of the year. 2010 season In 2010 he won his first classic of the year, April's Amstel Gold Race. After an aggressive race featuring many attacks, he won through a big attack in the last of the climb to the finish, comfortably winning by several bike lengths from the peloton. He also won the first stage of the Tour of Belgium. Gilbert then ended the 2010 season in superb form. He followed up two stage wins in the Vuelta a España with victories in the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di Lombardia, repeating his 2009 wins in both races. The Giro di Lombardia was won with a solo attack in atrocious weather conditions. 2011 season In 2011, Gilbert won the Montepaschi Strade Bianche, a race including of gravel roads. He then had a quadruple consecutive win: first he won the Brabantse Pijl, then he repeated as winner of the Amstel Gold Race, breaking free on the Cauberg. Three days later, he won La Flèche Wallonne dropping his rivals on the final climb of the Mur de Huy and finally he won Liège–Bastogne–Liège beating the Schleck brothers in the sprint. Gilbert thus became the second rider, after Davide Rebellin in 2004, to win the three Ardennes classics in a single year. During the first half of the season he also won stages at the Volta ao Algarve, Tirreno–Adriatico as well as the overall classification and a stage of both the Tour of Belgium and Ster ZLM Toer. In late June, Gilbert won the Belgian National Road Race Championships. In July he won the opening stage of the Tour de France, winning by three seconds over Cadel Evans, allowing him to