Even earlier than closing out his 18-year skilled street profession in 2023, Greg van Avermaet (Belgium) started to range his athletic pursuits, for his love of sports activities. He had already distinguished himself on the 2016 Olympic Games with the gold medal within the street race and a 12 months later he captured wins at each Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem. How do you prime that?
Van Avermaet started to range his programme in 2022 by competing within the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships and completed fourth, one second off the rostrum behind Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands). Then he took up a full gravel calendar this 12 months and combined in a 70.3 Ironman, which now has him certified for the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in 2025.
“I like sports activities. I’m fortunate that I’m nonetheless in fine condition. You know, it takes me 4 weeks to coach for a triathlon to be on an honest degree. So that is additionally the cool half, in case you can preserve your self busy with driving your bike, the form is just not taking place that a lot. And it is cool to try this sort of occasions the place you simply can discover some freedom and a few good emotions,” Van Avermaet informed Cyclingnews throughout his look Friday at a pop-up retailer in Leuven for manufacturers together with BMC and Pirelli.
“I feel it is fairly particular, as a result of now we have, in fact, a whole lot of Belgians going to start out. But it isn’t going to be like in an actual workforce. I feel it is fairly a person sport. It’s additionally not that it is created by the federation, the place within the street they’ve to select eight or 9 guys a workforce. So I feel right here it is extra free.
“Last time, I used to be nonetheless in massive form, you already know, I used to be nonetheless knowledgeable rider. Now is just a little bit completely different. I’m nonetheless driving my bike quite a bit, however, you do not reside the skilled life anymore, which can be good.”
In 2024, his first 12 months away from the WorldTour and street racing, the 39-year-old Belgian went all-in for gravel, incomes seven prime 10s in eight main occasions, together with third at Falling Leaves Lahti, fourth at 3 Rides Gravel and seventh at Unbound Gravel 200. With this 12 months’s UCI Gravel World Championships on his dwelling turf, he needs to have a superb journey.
“I’ll attempt to do my greatest. I’ve, in fact, the talents and the data easy methods to do it, however generally the legs do not reply that good anymore to what you need. But I feel I’ve an honest degree. It’s not so far-off from dwelling. And then I used to be additionally pondering, why not? Why not attempt.
The newest race content material, interviews, options, evaluations and skilled shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
“Winning this type of stuff, I feel that can be out of attain. I feel prime 15, prime 20, on this parcours, I can be completely satisfied. So we are going to see. I’m nonetheless having fun with it [racing] however the degree, in fact, is just not the identical anymore.”
When speaking about what number of contenders had been a part of the 292 elite males on the beginning for Sunday’s 182km contest, Van Avermaet wished to select a Belgian teammate, however defaulted to one of many hottest riders within the peloton who’s now not unsure to start out, Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel.
“If it’s important to choose one title the place it’s important to put your cash on, I feel most likely will probably be Mathieu [van der Poel]. I feel in case you see his degree from final week on a parcours that perhaps is just not the most effective for him, then I feel you possibly can count on that he gonna be the winner on Sunday,” Van Avermaet stated with a light-weight snigger.
“So I feel that man has the talents, has the legs, and has the data of [equipment]. I prefer it that he is right here, it is good for the occasion. I sort of prefer it when these guys have an interest to do this type of stuff.”
Van der Poel may have a Classics-styled course on which to compete for Worlds title on gravel so as to add to those he has in cyclocross and street. Van Avermaet just like the course, despite the fact that he stated it may have been designed with extra climbs.
“I prefer it, yeah, I feel it is Belgium, you can’t change it. We have punchy climbs, not an excessive amount of. We have a whole lot of buildings, and the small components of nature now we have are fairly protected, particularly in Flanders. There are fairly some corners additionally. So I feel grading this parcours is sort of exhausting,” he confirmed.
“It’s sort of a Classics model, like Tour of Flanders. It’s that sort of parcours. I feel in the event that they actually wished to make it quite a bit more durable, now we have a number of extra climbs, nevertheless it’s good, a superb mixture.
“It’s this type of gravel, the roads usually are not broad, it’s important to be in entrance. And this can make the race exhausting. If you are too far [behind], you may have this type of accordion that you simply’re enjoying, and it is exhausting to meet up with the primary guys. And that can make the race very exhausting I feel.”
Triathlon Worlds
Other sports activities adventures have led Van Avermaet again to his roots as a youth with swimming and operating, and he tried a triathlon in 2023 “only for enjoyable”. This 12 months a good friend challenged him to compete in a half Ironman, so Van Avermaet first checked his gravel programme to see if the timing labored. It did.
He competed on the 70.3 Ironman Knokke-Heist alongside former street execs Jelle Wallays (Cofidis) and Sven Vanthourenhout, who has been the nationwide biking coach for Belgium. Van Avermaet completed thirteenth total, third in his class (M35-39) and 5 spots forward of Wallays whereas Vanthourenhout was seventh in his class (M40-44).
“There was one, in fact, in Belgium, and I stated, yeah, why not attempt? I solely beginning biking after I was 18 years outdated, so I’ve a background as a soccer participant, however I used to be additionally swimming a bit, and I used to be operating. So ultimately, it would not price me an excessive amount of power to modify.”
He admitted he actually loved it as a result of it was not solely completely different, however there have been decrease expectations from biking, the place even “with gravel individuals count on you are gonna win, nevertheless it’s not all the time that simple”. Van Avermaet certified for the 70.3 Ironman World Championship in Spain subsequent 12 months.
“But in triathlon, individuals actually recognize if you are able to do the three sports activities, after which it was a superb expertise to organize myself do completely different sort of coaching. And I certified for Worlds subsequent 12 months. So I can be there additionally one other one.”
Get limitless entry to all of our protection of the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships – together with breaking information and evaluation reported by our journalists on the bottom from the elite girls’s and elite males’s occasions because it occurs and extra. Find out extra.