Philippe Gilbert probably lent publicity to Vlo Magazine and last night's Flandrien awards on Belgian TV drew in a good audience. Either way we're at the point where the 2012 season is drawing to a close. We start to look back, take stock and slowly project ourselves into 2013. End of season awards are for me, in English parlance, a good excuse for a piss up. Other than sports and events which require the accumulation of points through the season to crown an overall champion (chiefly motor sports and most team sports), sports have key events that are far more prestigious to win. Golf, the majors and the Ryder Cup... Tennis, the grand slams... Athletics, the olympics and world champs... even team sports show examples of this -- e.g. Cricket, the Ashes are the be all and end all for any Englishman or Australian. Cycling wise, I'm pretty sure nearly every rider dreamt of pulling on the yellow jersey in Paris when they were growing up in the sport. Secondary to that dream, perhaps winning one of the other two GTs or the prestige of one of the monuments. Purito has had a great season, I'm a big fan, but topping the end of season rankings means virtually nothing in the grand scheme of things. An award from the UCI, great, something else for his mantlepiece, but I'm pretty sure Hesjedal and Contador prefer their accolades for the GTs they beat him to. That said, the UCI rankings could be