Philippe Gilbert has announced his schedule for spring 2022. Gilbert, winner of the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, will not compete in either race this year and will concentrate on the Ardennes Classics.

Gilles, 39, whose three-year contract with Lotto-Soudal is coming to an end, will also take on Milan-San Remo and attempt to win the five monumental conquests achieved by Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck in the 1970s.

Gilbert won Il Lombardia in 2009 and 2010, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2011, Tour de Flanders in 2017, and Paris-Roubaix in 2019. He has not been on the podium in San Remo since 2011, but has stepped on the podium twice.

"I will start at Challenge Mallorca at the end of January," Gilbert told Het Nieuwsblad (open in new tab) at the Lot Soudal pre-season training camp. 'I'm also going to run Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, I still remember the first time I ran it 17 years ago. I've always been very motivated.

"Then I'm going to go one last time to look for that one missing piece in my monument collection. Milan-San Remo remains a difficult race, but who would have thought Stuyven would win last year?

"I won't run the Tour de Flanders or Paris-Roubaix. I don't want to be distracted. I'm going for the Ardennes Classics. It's the logical choice and I'm making special preparations. The Ardennes Week will be special. It will be a beautiful moment. Everyone there knows us and we will play our "home game". It's always nice."

Gilbert's spring will revolve around his 18th attempt at Milan-San Remo and the Ardennes, where he became the second rider to win the Amtel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege triple crown.

He will return to the Tour de France for the 10th time this summer, but Gilbert has cast doubts, suggesting that the 2021 Tour de France may be his last race participation.

"I want to be in my tenth Tour. It's a good number. Last year I said in an interview that this could be my last Tour. I saw the new parcours and wanted to come back. Denmark, Juan, the cobblestone stages, Longwy (a stage through Gilbert's home region of Walloon) - it's looking good."

While 2022 will obviously be a special season, Gilbert's last, he said the winter before was not much different from any other season, and he is enjoying the process of building up his form and fitness for the new year.

"I went through a winter just like any other year. I like the process of finding my best condition from scratch. It's motivating and always exciting. I didn't get sick and everything went well.

"Of course, I'm better than last year. Then I ran on one leg. The circumference of my right thigh was four centimeters smaller. After my two big crashes in the Tour, I had two knees and really a lot of problems. I suffered a lot because of that and I wasn't able to reach the level I wanted."

For Gilbert, 2021 was not the season he had hoped for, with no wins and top-five finishes at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Brussels Cycling Classic being his best results. This disappointment was shared by the team, which slumped to 18th in the UCI ranking with 12 wins.

This number of victories, which includes two stage wins at the Giro d'Italia for Caleb Yuan and a memorable stage win at the Criterium du Dauphiné for Brent Van Moore, matches the team's 2020 win total, but falls far short of its previous record of 20+ wins dating back to 2010 It is a far cry from the team's previous record of 20 or more victories dating back to 2010.

The team has been reshuffled for 2022, with longtime Direktor Sportif Hermann Frisson and former team manager Marc Sargent leaving, while Alan Davis and Shelly Pridham, as well as former Astana Jana Schiele, have been joined as Chief Business Officer.

On the rider side, several youngsters have signed on, including Hagens Berman Axiom alumnus Jarad Drizners.

"It wasn't terribly good," Gilbert said of the team's 2021 campaign. 'Enough has been written about that. When things go bad, everything falls apart. I sensed the team was in a slump, and it wasn't just a lack of results, it was everything. The team was at an all-time low. It couldn't have gone any lower

"It was time for a change in atmosphere. It was very difficult to live in the team. The base got better, there were good elements in all the classes, and the atmosphere was better. Everyone is saying that. Everyone is more motivated and that is what drives the team forward

"A lot has changed. There are a lot of new faces. I get the impression that everyone is motivated. Expectations and ambitions have all become clearer and easier to work with. It was also good to see Florian Vermeersch finish second in Paris-Roubaix. For the young riders, it proves that anything is possible."