"My adventure with professional cycling ends after this season," announced today Greg Van Avermaet, whose career has been marked by an Olympic title, a Paris-Roubaix and a great regret for never winning the Tour of Flanders.
At 37, the Belgian will arrive in six months when his contract with the French team AG2R expires for which he has not yet raised his arms since his arrival in 2021. "A great adventure is coming to an end and I'm a bit sad. This decision is It was very difficult to take, but when I look back I am extremely proud of my results. I gave my best every day, only to have no regrets," he explained.
Van Avermaet has therefore decided to move on after a rich career, with an Olympic gold in Rio in 2016, a bronze in the team time trial at the 2018 World Championships in Innsbruck, a Paris-Roubaix (2017), a Ghent-Wevelgem (2017) and two stage wins at the Tour de France, of which he wore the yellow jersey in 2016 and 2018. But the Tour of Flanders, the holy grail for him, born in Lokeren, has always rejected him, despite having touched him three times.
"In 2014 I lost in the sprint against Cancellara, he recalled recently. In 2016 I crashed and broke my collarbone when I really wanted to win. And in 2017, with the crash at Old Kwaremont, when Philippe Gilbert was still ahead, I was under the impression that it was still possible to win."
