Greg Van Avermaet To Retire: “Sadly This Adventure Will Come to an End”
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Olympic gold. Paris-Roubaix. Gent-Wevelgem. Tirreno-Adriatico. E3. A pair of stages at the Tour de France. Back-to-back Omloop Het Nieuwsblad victories.
It’s a palmarès that puts Greg Van Avermaet in rarified air and one that he’ll carry into retirement at the end of this season.
In an Instagram post shared this morning, the 37-year-old Belgian superstar announced to his 280,000 followers and the cycling world at large that this will be his final season.
With a highly produced video that juxtaposes the racing of Van Avermaet’s past with the domesticity of his future, as he hangs a series of jerseys he wore over his seventeen years in the peloton on a backyard clothesline. Finally, he hangs a golden helmet from the line. It’s a nod to his Olympic victory in Rio’s 2016 games, a win that earned him the nickname “Golden Greg.”
The video is accompanied by a caption that reads in full:
“Sadly this adventure will come to an end. 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. 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-CITROËN, that I thank for its trust and team spirit for the last 3 years, just like I did from the first day I decided to start cycling. Hopefully I can finish off with some nice results!”
Van Avermaert joined the professional ranks in 2007, first appearing with the Predictor-Lotto team. After two seasons there, he moved to the WorldTour stage with the team, by then called Silence-Lotto. Two seasons later, he joined BMC Racing Team, where he spent the next eight years and enjoyed his greatest successes. After two years with CCC Team, Van Avermaet joined his current and final team, AG2R Citroën. In that time, he’s notched forty-one race wins.
Van Avermaet has had a busy spring, racing in almost every major and classic road race. His highest finish thus far has been a twenty-sixth-place showing at Amstel Gold Race.
After a brief break, he’s set to return to action later this month, with starts at the Tour du Finistère, Boucles de l’Aulne, and 4 Jours de Dunkerque. In June, he’ll compete in either the Tour de Suisse or the Dauphiné before possibly appearing in the Belgian national championships and a final Tour de France.
His final race has yet to be determined.
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