Greg Van Avermaet: 'If I never win Flanders it won't change my life'
Van Avermaet says he's still nervous heading into his 13th edition of the Tour of Flanders


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
In his 12 participations in the Tour of Flanders Greg Van Avermaet has finished as runner-up twice, but he says he is not bothered if he ends his career without a win in what he considers the "most important race of the year."
The 33-year-old Belgian leads the CCC Team on Sunday in Bruges and is marked as one of the favourites along with the strong Deceuninck-Quick-Step squad. The cobbled Monument ends after 270.1 kilometres and many bergs in Oudenaarde.
"If I never win? It will not change my life, but it's a goal as an athlete. First you want to turn pro, you want to reach some goals and then others," he said.
>>> Five things to look out for at the 2019 Tour of Flanders
"I was eighth right away, I thought I'd for sure win soon. I have been close but it didn't happen yet. You have to have to have goals in life and it's my big goal. It fits me the best. I think I still have a few years, but I'd rather win on Sunday than the year after."
Van Avermaet is the reigning Olympic Champion from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games road race and also won the 2017 Paris-Roubaix, his only Monument victory so far. For him, though, Flanders remains the top prize, having dreamt of it since he was a kid growing up in Lokeren, East Flanders.
Van Avermaet ranks himself just below Deceuninck-Quick-Step's Bob Jungels and Zdeněk Štybar, and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) – who he described as the three favourites to win in Oudenaarde.
"For sure I'll be nervous. It's for me the most important race of the year, if you don't get nervous about these things thing you better give up," he added.
"It keeps me going in the winter, it's an honour to start as a favourite. I wanted to be one of them when I was a kid, now I am. For sure, you have to be nervous, it's a healthy thing."
He came out of the gates strong in 2019 by winning a stage in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and has been near the front challenging since, placing second in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and pushing the eventual winning group clear in the E3 BinckBank Classic. They joined a solo Jungels, but Van Avermaet placed third in Harelbeke.
"I'm happy about my form and the races I did, I'm in a good shape to do a good result on Sunday," he said.
"I'm always riding my own races, I like my way of riding, my character is to attack and make the race. I'm not a guy who always follows and waits. If I'm comfortable, I make my own moves," he explained.
"E3 and Omloop give me confidence that that I can make that decisive move, they are the closest races in comparison to Flanders."
Van Avermaet races the next three Sundays with Flanders followed by Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race.
"The two to three races coming now are the most important. I wasn't able to win yet," he said. "It's winning that counts. For me this is the biggest goal of the year, and there's a lot of weight on it."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
-
Cycling keeps you fit but are you doing enough to stay healthy?
It’s possible to be very fit in one specific way, for example being fast on a bike, while being unhealthy in other ways
By Joe Laverick Published
-
Dr Hutch: Motor-doping isn't rife, there's no way cyclists would use it discreetly enough
Some fans think that motor-doping is rife, but Cycling Weekly's columnist Dr Hutch is having none of it
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Rider slapped with 30 day suspension for causing Tour of Flanders mass pile-up
Filip Maciejuk banned from racing for a month after careering into the front of the bunch after taking to the pavement
By Vern Pitt Published
-
Greg Van Avermaet, Olympic champion, Roubaix winner, to retire from cycling at the end of 2023
The Belgian says he has "no regrets" as he will head out of the peloton aged 38
By Adam Becket Published
-
Jumbo-Visma perfect until it really mattered: Five things we learned from the men's cobbled Classic season
Tadej Pogačar should be lining up a tilt at Paris-Roubaix, Mathieu van der Poel has won almost everything he can, and Ineos Grenadiers underwhelmed
By Adam Becket Published
-
'All the pressure was on him': Philippe Gilbert impressed by Kasper Asgreen’s form ahead of Paris-Roubaix
Danish rider finished seventh for Soudal Quick-Step after Patrick Lefevere called for riders to ‘save team’s honour’
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
UCI launches investigation into massive men's Tour of Flanders pileup
World governing body also investigating road-blocking team tactics used by DSM in the race as well as by Trek-Segafredo at Dwars door Vlaanderen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
I went to the Tour of Flanders and was shocked by the exodus of people before the women's race went past
The rush to leave the Kwaremont after the men's race was depressing, and revealing. We all need to do more to support women's cycling
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tadej Pogačar continues to transcend the limits of a Tour de France winner
With Tour of Flanders victory ticked off, it’s hard to bet against him adding the two remaining Monuments to his palmarès in the years to come
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Five things we learned from the Tour of Flanders 2023: Kasper Asgreen could save Quick-Step's spring
Jumbo-Visma are fallible after all, and SD Worx's dominance continues with Roubaix in sight
By Tom Thewlis Published