Greg Van Avermaet

Greg Van Avermaet
Greg Van Avermaet, 2022 Paris–Roubaix.
Personal information
Full nameGreg Van Avermaet
Nickname
Born (1985-05-17) 17 May 1985 (age 39)
Lokeren, Flanders, Belgium
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb; 11 st 9 lb)
Team information
Current teamTeam Last Dance
DisciplineGravel
RoleRider
Rider typeClassics specialist
Puncheur
Professional teams
2006Bodysol–Win for Life–Jong Vlaanderen
2007–2010Predictor–Lotto
2011–2020BMC Racing Team[3]
2021–2023AG2R Citroën Team
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
2 individual stages (2015, 2016)
2 TTT stages (2015, 2018)
Vuelta a España
Points classification (2008)
1 individual stage (2008)

Stage races

Tirreno–Adriatico (2016)
Tour of Belgium (2015)
Tour de Wallonie (2011, 2013)
Tour de Luxembourg (2017)
Tour de Yorkshire (2018)

One-day races and Classics

Olympic Games Road Race (2016)
Paris–Roubaix (2017)
Gent–Wevelgem (2017)
E3 Harelbeke (2017)
GP de Montréal (2016, 2019)
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (2016, 2017)
Paris–Tours (2011)

Other

UCI World Tour (2017)
UCI World Ranking (2017)
Medal record
Representing  Belgium
Men's road bicycle racing
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Men's road race

Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling,[4] Van Avermaet was a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general classification in stage races, particularly when run on a hilly terrain, such as the 2016 Tirreno–Adriatico,[5] and the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire. His strong sprint finish enabled him to win sprints of small lead groups, but he has also won races after solo breakaways.[6]

He won the men's individual road race event at the 2016 Summer Olympics,[7][8] and has won other one-day races such as Paris–Roubaix, Gent–Wevelgem and E3 Harelbeke in 2017, the 2016 GP de Montréal and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2016 and 2017. In the Grand Tours, Van Avermaet has taken two individual stage wins in the Tour de France, and worn the Yellow Jersey for eleven days during the 2016 and 2018 Tours and won the points classification in the Vuelta a España, with one stage win in the Vuelta a España. Van Avermaet was also the overall winner of the 2017 UCI World Tour.

For the 2021 season, Van Avermaet joined the AG2R Citroën Team on a three-year contract.[9] He retired from racing in 2023, and his last race was the Paris-Tours.

  1. ^ a b "Ride like the pros: Greg van Avermaet". Cyclist. Dennis Publishing Limited. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Van Avermaet: This year I feel like it's my turn". Cyclingnews.com. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017. The Olympic road race champion has won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke and Gent–Wevelgem so far this spring, earning him the nickname of the 'King of Flanders'.
  3. ^ "Valter completes CCC Team's 2020 roster". Cyclingnews.com. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Matthews: I'd like to be as versatile as Van Avermaet". cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2016 Tirreno was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yellow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Van Avermaet stuns the climbers to take gold in Rio". VeloNews. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Van Avermaet wins gold in men's road race at Olympic Games". cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Greg Van Avermaet and Michaël Schär sign for three years". AG2R La Mondiale. EUSRL France Cyclisme. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2022.