The farewell of Greg Van Avermaet does not come out of the blue. The successes have been lacking in recent years. He could no longer put his foot next to the Van Aerts, Van der Poels and Pogacars of this world.
In every interview he stated that he would not decide on his future until after the spring. “I still really like to race and continue to commit myself with full enthusiasm, that seems to me at least as important,” he said at the time.
Now the knot has been cut. Two weeks before his 38th birthday.
“Unfortunately, this adventure is coming to an end,” Van Avermaet begins his farewell post on Instagram.
“As difficult as the decision was, I look back on my achievements with extreme pride. I gave the best of myself every day, just to have no regrets afterwards. I not only enjoyed the victory, but also the road towards it .”
“I want to thank all the people who believed in me and helped me throughout my career. I am also grateful to the fans who have always supported me, not only during the glory moments. Now the time has come to spend time with my wife and children. And to find other goals in my life, which I hope I can pursue with the same passion.”
“Until the end of the season, I will give everything for AG2R-Citroën, which I have to thank for the trust I have had over the past three years. Hopefully I can finish with some good results.”
Van Avermaet, who was in goal in the youth of KSK Beveren, switched in 2006 with the necessary horns from the promises to the professionals at Jong Vlaanderen, the training team of WorldTour team Lotto.
A year later he grew to the then Predictor-Lotto. In 2008, the young Van Avermaet was already noticed with a stage victory in the Vuelta.
He achieved his greatest successes at BMC, where he spent most of his career. From 2011 to 2018, he collected an impressive palmares with the American-Swiss formation.
2016 and 2017 were his peak years. He won the Omloop twice, Gent-Wevelgem, the E3 Harelbeke and even a monument with Paris-Roubaix. But his best performance on the road was the Olympic road race in the summer of 2016 in Rio: “Gouden Greg” was born.
In the grand tours it was a long wait after that Vuelta in 2008. In the Tour it didn’t work out for a long time, Peter Sagan was often his bogeyman, but in Rodez in 2015 he broke the spell. In 2016 he won another stage and wore the yellow. In the Tour of 2018 he would do at least 8 days.
His honors list has one gap: Van Avermaet seemed born to win the Tour of Flanders one day. He was 2 times second and 3 times third in Vlaanderens Mooiste, but he never managed to win. Often due to bad luck. As a top favorite in 2016, he broke his elbow early in the race.
He booked his 57th and last professional victory with the merger team CCC Team with the Grand Prix of Montréal in 2019. He has been working for AG2R since 2021, but he was not yet able to win as a French employee. He still has a few months left.
2023-05-03 10:01:24
#Greg #Van #Avermaet #stops #season #Time #goals #life #cycling
