13/01/2023

Greg van Avermaet reveals packed spring calendar in search of wins - "If I no longer believed that I could win another classic, I wouldn't be here anymore"

At 37 years of age Greg van Avermaet is no longer the same rider he was several years ago, however he still aims high. The AG2R Citroën Team rider revealed his schedule for the spring aswell as talking to the media in a training camp in Spain.

"If I no longer believed that I could win another classic, I wouldn't be here anymore. If everything goes perfectly, I can certainly still achieve good results in the classics," van Avermaet told Sporza. "I want to participate in the final again at the front and possibly hand out small shots to those men (Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, ed.). I want to ride finals again and finish in the Top10, Top5.”

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The former Paris-Roubaix (amongst many other illustrious races) winner has not had an easy time since joining the French team in 2021, however he did finish on the podium of the Tour des Flandres in 2021. 2022 was a different story however as he failed to finish in the Top10 of all cobbled classics except Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

“I can definitely go on for a few more years, I don't know when I'm going to stop," he continues. "I don't want to set a date yet, because I'm still having fun. And I don't want to go on too long, but I certainly don't want to stop too soon. But I still have to reach a certain level, that is the condition. I will see this year if that is still possible or not. I will draw my conclusions from that.”

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Van Avermaet will start his season at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana. In February he'll race the Etoile de Bessèges and the Tour of Oman before returning to Europe to race the opening weekend - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne - before Strade Bianche which should be part of his major spring goals.

Then the packed schedule continues. Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo will see the veteran conclude a big block of Italian racing before he eyes the cobbled classics. He will race the E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem before the Tour des Flandres and Paris-Roubaix. He'll end his spring campaign the week following at the Amstel Gold Race.