Twelve Octobers have now ticked by since a fresh-faced Greg Van Avermaet outpowered breakaway Marco Marcato and simultaneously fended off the sprinters for an audacious breakthrough victory in the 2011 edition of Paris-Tours.
Van Avermaet’s ideal last result of his career would be to roll back the years for one last win in the same race on Sunday.
“Paris-Tours was the first big Classic I won back in 2011, and I’m in a French team as well,” the AG2R-Citröen rider pointed out.
“I’d be very happy if I can finish on a good note and I’ve still got ambitions to try and win it. That’s always been my goal, and it’s no different on Sunday.”
While fellow eminent retiree Peter Sagan announced his decision to hang up his wheels at the Vuelta de San Juan in January, Van Avermaet explained that his decision it was time to quit had come during the 2023 season, after a disappointing spring Classics campaign.
“I’ve always had a lot of pleasure riding my bike, but the results were no longer right at the top and age isn’t going to help me,” Van Avermaet, 38, said. “That’s why this has happened.”
“I took my decision after the Classics, but I’m also glad to be here doing the end of the season. That was a good decision and this why I can profit from doing right up to the last race.”
“This is my passion and it’s not easy to quit even if I always knew one day it had to happen. I’ve had a good career, 17 years long, and I’m very proud of what I’ve done.”
Van Avermaet will do the one-day Binche-Chimay-Binche Classic on Tuesday, his last race on Belgian soil, prior to heading to France for Paris-Tours.
He admitted that he will be emotional when he rides under the final flamme rouge and along the last kilometre of the French Classic. Yet he also knows a new part of his life “would be beginning,” and that difficult moments all form part of sport and life.
“That’s how it is in cycling: no gifts, all the way to the end, and actually that’s what I like about it,” he observed.
“You’re in good shape, you’re in the front. You’re not so good, you’re at the back.”
While Van Avermaet may not have had many gifts during his 17-year career, his ability to grab some stunning and very varied victories without asking anyone’s permission was always in evidence.
The Belgian has racked up 42 victories to his name to date, ranging from Tour de France stage wins…
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