Greg van Avermaet announces retirement at end of season - ‘sadly this adventure will come to an end’
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Published 03/05/2023 at 10:41 GMT
Legendary Belgian cyclist Greg van Avermaet will leave the peloton at the end of the season having decided that now is the right time to retire and step away from the sport. The 37-year-old won Olympic gold in 2016 as well as the likes of Paris-Roubaix and Tirreno-Adriatico as well as a total of four stages at the Tour de France during his career. It is unclear what his next steps will be.
Relive the glorious win of Van Avermaet in Rio
2016 Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet has confirmed that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2023 season.
Van Avermaet, 37, had been toying with his future for some time but said that he wouldn’t make any decision until after the spring season.
However, now with the Grand Tours starting, Van Avermaet has confirmed that he will be hanging up his helmet at the end of the current season.
“Sadly, this adventure will come to an end.” Van Avermaet wrote on Instagram.
“As hard as the decision was, when I look back I am extremely proud of my achievements. I gave every day the best of myself, just to not have any regrets afterwards. I did not only enjoy the victory but also the way to it.
“I wanna thank all the people that believed in me and helped me throughout my career. I’m extremely thankful to all my fans who supported me, not only during my glory days, but also during the difficult times.
“I wanna thank all the people that believed in me and helped me throughout my career. I’m extremely thankful to all my fans who supported me, not only during my glory days, but also during the difficult times.
"Now it’s time to spend some time with my wife and kids and to look for other goals in life in which I will hopefully find the same passion.
“Until the end of the season, I will still give my all with my team AG2R-Citroen, that I thank for its trust and team spirit for the last three years, just like I did from the first day I decided to start cycling. Hopefully, I can finish off with some nice results!"
“Until the end of the season, I will still give my all with my team AG2R-Citroen, that I thank for its trust and team spirit for the last three years, just like I did from the first day I decided to start cycling. Hopefully, I can finish off with some nice results!"
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/07/20/3419053-69766228-2560-1440.jpg)
Greg Van Avermaet
Image credit: Getty Images
Van Avermaet will go down as one of the best utility men of the modern era, capable of thriving both in one day and multiple-stage races.
He retires with the 2016 Individual Road Race Olympic gold medal as the highlight of his career, as well as winning a total of four stages at the Tour de France.
He also won points classification at the 2008 Vuelta a Espana.
He also triumphed at Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of Belgium, the Tour de Wallonie, the Tour de Luxembourg and the Tour de Yorkshire, as well Paris-Roubaix, Gent-Wevelgem and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
- - -
Stream top cycling action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement