Philippe Gilbert has described the decision by his Deceuninck-QuickStep team not to select him for the Tour de France as `incomprehensible`, revealing it will play a part in any decision to leave the Belgian squad and end his prestigious career elsewhere. Gilbert finished third in the one-day Halle-Ingooigem race on Wednesday and vented his frustration before the start. The Paris-Roubaix winner revealed he was informed of his non-selection on Monday evening by directeur sportif Tom Steels. `I am very disappointed. The decision is incomprehensible,` Gilbert told Belgian media at Halle-Ingooigem. `I worked hard to ride the Tour, I really wanted to ride this Tour, because it starts in Brussels and because I had to give up last year after a fall. It is a disappointment and a surprise.ADVERTISEMENT `This decision was imposed on me, that`s not nice but apparently it`s also part of the sport.` Gilbert said of the lack of consultation on the final eight riders for the Tour de France. Elia Viviani, Julian Alaphilippe and Enric Mas will lead Deceuninck-QuickStep at the Tour de France with Yves Lampaert, Michael Mørkøv, Max Richeze, Dries Devenyns and promising debutante Kasper Asgreen selected to help the Italian target the sprints, especially the opening stage in Brussels. The stage 2 team time trial is also a major goal, with Deceuninck-QuickStep knowing victory could secure them the Tour de France leader`s yellow jersey for several days. Mas, who placed second at last year`s Vuelta a España, will be the team`s protected GC leader, with Alaphilippe given carte blanche to target hilly stages. Staying positive in life
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