Greg Van Avermaet's ex-mentor talks about his last season in peloton: "He will win more races this year"

1338 days. Greg Van Avermaet had to wait that long for a new victory after the GP Montréal in 2019. On Sunday, he beat his young compatriot Florian Vermeersch in a power sprint after tough Boucles de l'Aulne.

"A few weeks ago I told him on the phone that this would happen," says rider's ex-mentor José De Cauwer in De Tribune podcast.

"The fact that it was so long ago certainly had something to do with it," says José De Cauwer. "I think it's great for him. No, it's not the biggest race, but it is very important for him to be able to do this in his final year."

"Now that he has found that inner peace, he is free. He will win more races this year, because I know that he still does a lot for it and gives it everything he's got."

Greg Van Avermaet was also listening to the broadcast of De Tribune and texted De Cauwer during the discussion about Remco Evenepoel's exit in the Giro: "Race with corona is never advisable!"

Van Avermaet knows it all too well, because after his corona infection he himself said that he was no longer the same rider. "You never get better from an illness," concludes De Cauwer philosophically.