Gilbert edges out Belgian rival Boonen in Paris-Tours

PHILIPPE Gilbert took advantage of the absence of Mark Cavendish to claim the 230km sprinters' classic, the Paris-Tours, on Sunday.

Cavendish had made no secret he was looking to bring down the curtain on his amazing season with a victory in the event.

But the 23-year old - who has banked an incredible 24 wins this year - withdrew after failing to recover from the respiratory infection that forced him to miss the recent World Championships.

His absence meant the race turned out to be a showdown between the best of the rest in world sprinting.

Gilbert was in form after winning a stage of the Coppa Sabatini in Italy last week while former world champion Tom Boonen has finished a frustrating season strongly.

And Gilbert, riding for Silence-Lotto, gained revenge on Boonen, who pipped him to the Belgian national title earlier this year.

In a three-man dash for the line, he had enough to hold off both his national rival and Slovenia's Borut Bozic while Italy's Filippo Pozzato and Spain's Oscar Friere completed the minor placings.