Three members of the Alex Arrambar Fan Club, wearing T-shirts that read "Aupa Alex." stood across the finish line in Bilbao, watching the finale of stage 12 of the Vuelta a España on a small TV screen. They shouted "Benga, benga, benga" as Aramburu and fellow rider Fernando Barcelo closed in on the lone leader in the last kilometer. Philippe Gilbert doesn't often miss opportunities like this.

And so it proved. Gilbert's winning percentage may no longer match his prodigious record of a decade ago, but the Belgian has a tendency to hit the target when the moment is right. The terribly steep slopes of the Alto de Arraiz seemed to suit his talents, and he made a spectacular breakaway from the day's lead group less than 2km from the summit. In the shadow of the St. Mames stadium, he won by three seconds. There was never any doubt.

The victory, Gilbert's sixth in the Vuelta, was, like his recent efforts, most timely: In 2012, Gilbert won his first Vuelta trial season in Barcelona and Last Lira. A year later in Tarragona, Gilbert took his only victory wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey.

Meanwhile, Thursday's win in Bilbao felt like a response to his exclusion from the Tour de France's Deceuninck-Quick-Step team, which had him eager for the world championships in Yorkshire and foreshadowing a move to Lotto-Soudal.

"It was complicated because I was working hard for the Tour de France. I was in good shape and then I had to drop everything and interrupt. It was emotionally complicated," Gilbert said of being deemed redundant to compete in La Grande Boucle.

"Then I had to start over again and go through that process and make all the sacrifices to do all the work that was necessary to get in form. It was complicated. But I found motivation in thinking about my chances to be world champion this year, and I kept thinking about Sept. 29, and I kept thinking about the fact that I had to go through the whole process of getting back into shape, and that I was going to be a world champion. That was the motivation I needed to get back in shape."

Gilbert has been more or less a fixture on the Belgian World Championship team throughout his career; he missed the 2016 Doha event and missed last year's event due to injury, but it has been a while since he started a race as a full leader. The Yorkshire course is said to be suitable for both cobbled Classics and Ardennes riders, and Gilbert is at the intersection of the Venn diagram.

"I haven't had much contact with (Belgian national coach) Rick Verbrugghe, but I have confidence in his tactics. He knows my qualities and we trained together many times when I lived in Belgium. He knows my qualities and we practiced together many times when I lived in Belgium. But he is one of the leaders."

Gilbert's late-career renaissance, of course, occurred on a team where the concept of a complete leader is almost anathema: after winning the 2017 Tour de Flanders, Gilbert chased teammate Niki Terpstra in the same race a year later. marked, but when the opportunity presented itself at Paris-Roubaix this April, he seized the chance to lead.

Now in his final weeks with Dettunink-Quick Step before returning to Lot Soudal on a three-year contract after his 40th birthday, Gilbert paid tribute to Patrick Lefevere's team philosophy.

"I think we were innovators in this mentality for three or four years. Since 2017, when I arrived, I think this team has run with a lot of leaders who sacrifice themselves for each other and have changed things with the way they run," Gilbert said. "Other teams started doing this because they knew it would work.

"I think this is the future of cycling. It's more dangerous for other teams. More results; OK, sometimes you have to accept that you're going to be behind the other team on the block, but that's cycling. But that's cycling." The wheels are always turning, the end of the year is even, and there are plenty of chances to win.

Gilbert seized his first opportunity in this Vuelta by breaking into a break that formed during a breathless race in the Basque Country. Thanks to teammate Tim Declercq, Gilbert was also able to win the final climb ("Without him, I wouldn't have won"). Yorkshire is just 24 days away.

"The timing is good," Gilbert said. 'I think I'll be in good shape for the World Championships.'