"The fun should always be there. If you don’t have fun anymore doing your job, it’s hard to continue” Greg Van Avermaet ahead of Gravel World Championship

Greg Van Avermaet's cycling season came to an end at Binche-Chimay-Binche on Tuesday, but he decided to take part in Veneto Gravel held on 9th October and enjoy some off-road cycling.

It was his bike sponsor BMC who asked the rider to take part in the event last year, but he was not able to make it, but things are different this year, and he is ready to enjoy the race.“BMC asked me last winter if I might be interested in starting the Gravel Worlds and riding their new bike at it, and we said we’d see how it went through the season,” Van Avermaet told Cyclingnews.

He continues, “The route is flatter than Strade Bianche, but I think it’s also more technical, with some smaller roads and farm tracks. But road riders will still be good at it because it’s quite long and it’s not too technical, and the gravel specialists will be up there, so there should be a good mix.

And even though we ride in teams, you won’t really have teammates to protect you because it should be an open race from the beginning. It’s a new adventure, and I don’t know what to expect: but the start will be super hard.”“Cycling should always be fun, even if you’re a professional.”

Many big names like Mathieu van der Poel, Peter Sagan and Zdenek Stybar will also take part, and he is not afraid to compete against them.“Having the big names can only help to make the sport bigger, so I don’t see a big problem with that,” said Van Avermaet.

He concluded with, “The fun should always be there. If you don’t have fun anymore doing your job, it’s hard to continue.”