Olympic road race champion Greg Van Avermaet will undergo surgery on Monday after fracturing his ankle while mountain biking at the weekend.
The Belgian sustained a small, non-displaced, distal left fibula fracture according to a statement from his BMC team, who agreed with doctors to allow him to undergo surgery in Antwerp to help speed up his recovery.
The injury is expected to keep Van Avermaet from training for around three to four weeks, but the team are confident it won't affect his 2017 season.
"Injuries are unfortunately part of a cyclist's career, something that Greg understands well having already bounced back successfully from injury this year," said BMC's chief medical officer Dr Max Testa.
"Following surgery Greg's training program will be readjusted according to his progress over the next two to three weeks, and in agreement with Dr. Leenders,"
"I am confident that this injury will not interfere with Greg's objectives for the 2017 season."
Van Avermaet memorably crashed out of the Tour of Flanders this year with a number of his BMC teammates, and subsequently went under the knife to fix a broken collarbone.
That injury kept him from competing in the remainder of the Classics, including Paris-Roubaix, but he was able to make a successful return in time to take a stage win at the Tour de France and the maillot jaune, before heading to Rio where he beat the climbers on a hilly Olympic road race course to claim the gold medal.
An update on Van Avermaet's progress is expected on Tuesday morning.
Thank you for reading 10 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
-
-
Skip the gatorade, nonalcoholic beer may be as good as, or even better than, sports drinks
Dry January may be over but you may want to keep stocking those nonalcoholic beers — for fitness sake.
-
Rider hangs from bridge after huge pile-up at Etoile de Bessèges, stage neutralised
Valentin Ferron escapes with minor injuries as others taken to hospital
-
Tour de Yorkshire to be replaced with new look cycling event in 2024
Tour de Yorkshire not due to return to north of England, although initial plans announced for new cycling event in area
-
Biniam Girmay shares photo of eye-catching new helmet design
Eritrean rider shares image of new boxing cork design on cafe stop during training ride
-
How the team with the smallest budget in the WorldTour is overtaking the competition: The rise of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert
The Belgian team has been punching above their weight all season
-
Biniam Girmay's stage 11 start in question after podium mishap
Eritrean stage-winner injured his eye with a cork during podium celebrations
-
'Unbelievable': Biniam Girmay seizes opportunity in watershed moment for cycling
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert rider becomes first Eritrean Grand Tour stage winner
-
Racing every race like it's the last of the season: how smaller teams are overperforming this year
Lotto-Soudal and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux have won 11 races between them in 2022 after just 21 in all of last year, so what's going on?
-
Greg Van Avermaet looking for redemption at Paris-Roubaix after omission from Belgian Worlds squad
The Belgian has represented his national team at the World Championships every year since 2007
-
'In my own country, I'm not part of the team': Philippe Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet not selected for home World Championships
There were a few surprise names left off the list for the Flanders 2021 Worlds
