Following the appointment of Serge Pauwels as Belgium's National Road Coach, Philippe Gilbert saw to air his frustration with the hiring process for the position

Belgian Cycling announced the hiring of Pauwels on Wednesday. The former pro steps up from the junior program coach, a position he had held for the past four seasons along with his role as assistant to outgoing coach Sven Vanthourenhout. 

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Gilbert complained that "the position was never open" and claimed that his "internal pact" with cycling in Belgium meant he had no real chance of being hired.

"I wanted to be a National road cycling coach to share my experience and passion with the current generation," wrote Gilbert, who retired at the end of 2022.

"The internal agreement of cycling in Belgium made my application better because the position was not open. I would like to thank the many riders who showed their enthusiasm and the countless people who supported me.

Belgian cycling chair Tom Van Damme, when adopting Pauwels, said there was "certainly no reduction in top-level sports in our business" and said there was a consultation with Gilbert.

However, he said that candidates were "often quite vague" in their role planning, as opposed to internal candidate Pauwels.

According to Sporza, "There was a meeting with Philippe," Van Damme said. "By the way, it was a very constructive conversation.

"The vision of the Federation, however, is very consistent with Serge's: the bonds between youth and professionals have become so important that there must be a flow. We have continued along that line.

"There were a lot of interviews, but the candidates themselves were often quite vague.

"They often didn't know exactly what path they wanted to take in their careers, but we had a full-fledged candidate internally.

Pauwels will replace Vanthourenhout, who has presided over an era of great success in cycling in Belgium. Since becoming the national coach in 2020, the former Cyclocross star has provided 3 rainbow jerseys and 5 Olympic medals, and won a total of 99 medals in international competitions under his reign.