Last year, after FabiCan had decimated the opposition in [nearly] every race he had entered, our brother fans, the flippin' idiots who stand next to you and me at the tops of climbs and who swill beer with us while screaming at the telly - What, you don't holler at Bob and Phil and Paul? - began calling for an investigation of Fabian's equipment (At first I wasn't sure what it was they really wanted to look at), as they were sure that he had an electric motor concealed in the frame of his Cervelo!

After I was over my outrage at the foolishness of these guys but had not yet begun to laugh at their ridiculousness, I had a thankful few moments because at least no one was suggesting that Fabian was doping, or, if they were, they were being very quiet about it. I mean, one had only to look at Fab's face as he lie contorted on the ground after putting out maximum effort for forty K to realize that his performance was no EPO/CERA-fueled bio-genetic festival like we were by then so used to seeing but instead was the real deal, a clean win!

And so, likewise I am amazed that no one has yet been screaming and demanding to view the internals of Phil Gilbert's bicycle since we all assume his liver has already been meticulously examined and been declared crystal clean. Really, I am amazed that after his searing attack in Quebec where he notched his twentieth(?) win of the year that the nay-sayers weren't stacked up ten deep ready to tar and feather Blondie for daring to shred the field again and so convincingly. Therefore, when Gilbert didn't win Montreal, I started to get suspicious for the first time... I'm serious!

Hey, we saw Phil back in the field chatting up his rivals, assuring them (and us) that his two crashes were of no concern..."Don't worry, Mom," he seemed to be saying, "I'm OK, I promise." If he were being tactical, then it worked, totally, because I thought Phil was done for the day; so when suddenly Phil worked his way back to the front and attacked, I freaked. Goodness! With the entire peloton watching his every pedal stroke, Gilbert managed to dupe them all and very nearly win the race.

But he just didn't have enough... he needed either a few more watts or a bit more real estate. Later though, Phil revealed the real reason: "I was afraid," he said. WTF! What is this man saying? He was afraid, just like you and just like me? Phil gets scared after he hits the tarmac a few times? I don't know if I believe him.

However, Phil put everything back into perspective yesterday when he won another damned bicycle race, the GP Wallone! Now there is a nasty rumor circulating in the peloton that during the race Phil was overheard chanting, "I am harder than the asphalt, harder than ground" over and over again, but of course I couldn't substantiate it [the rumor].

There we have it, right before the worlds: Phil Gilbert admits he is human and gets scared for a minute... and apparently he uses that fear to motivate himself to even higher levels of toughness. When ARE the world championships anyway? Phil doesn't have a chance, right? He did say that the course doesn't suit his characteristics, right? I know that an uphill sprint that requires super effort is not really his thing, but I'm not too sure if I really believe Phil or not. He did say he was afraid of the finish... right?