Van Avermaet enjoys a double personal victory at Tirreno-Adriatico
BMC rider responds to Belgian do🐠ping investigation by winning in Arezzo
Friday, March 13 was always going to be a complicated day for 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), with or without any bad luck. But he ended the day with a double personal victory: he won the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:uphill sprint in Arezzo at Tirreno-Adr💃iatico and also secured a delay in the Belgian investigation into alle𓃲gations that he worked with Dr Chris Mertens, who has been accused of giving illegal ozone treatment. The new hearing will now take place on April 16, allowing Van Avermaet to tar🥃get all the cobbled Classics with BMC.
The news of the delay in proceedings came while Van Avermaet was racing on the roads of Tuscany and then, perhaps fired up by the news, he powered to victory on the paved streets of Arezzo historic centre, beating Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep). He took a double victory on the road, also pulling on the race leader’s blue jersey. ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚHe also ended his run of placings in major races and confirmed he will be a contender in this year’s Classics.
“I was thinking about it [the hearing] and thinking♒ that the only good sign to give was to win a race,” Van Avermaet admitted in the post-stage winner’s press conference.
“I think it’s normal to think about stuff going on but I gave a good answer. 🎃I knew this stage suited me and that this day would come but I focused on the race and I’m happy that I showed I can win races like this.
“I can’t say too much because the case is going on, we’ll see how it goes. But I have nothing to hide, I’m c𒐪onfident that everything will happen and the truth will come out and that I’m 🌸free to race again. I didn’t really care about the date; it was better to prepare a good case. After the Classics is good so I don’t have to put too much energy on this and I can focus on my job. These extra weeks won’t make a big difference.”
Van Avermaet had already opted to ride Tirreno🍒-A💖driatico instead of attending the hearing and had targeted the stage to Arezzo.
“I looked at the stages of Tirreno-Adrཧiatico and was confident for the third and fourth stages, this finish really suits me,” he said. “I also saw last year’s race when Phil [Gilbert] was third and I knew it was a🐬 good finish for me, even if there were some good guys to beat. I’ve been close this year but I’m happy to have finished it off. The team rode well and took me in good position, I’m really happy to have held people like Sagan off.”
The latest race ♏content, interviews, features, reviews🥃 and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Team leadership for the Classics
Van Avermaet’s vi♔ctory also meant he shook off the mantle of eternal second, passing that weight to Sagan’s shoulders. The BMC team management has already made Van Avermaet its designated team leader for the cobbled Classics and now Van Avermaet has the results and conviction that he can challenge for a big w🌟in this spring.
“It’s important be🧸cause I’m the leader of the team and you can only be a leader if you win races,” Van Avermaet said.
“I’ve beꦡen close in Flanders, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche, Qatar and Oman. You always try to win even if you end up second or third. Now I’ve finally got one, I&🦂rsquo;m really happy. I sprinted right to the line and didn’t put my arms up because I wanted to win and not lose it on the line with someone coming over me.
“I know in my head I can beat those guys but you have to show it. Fabian [Cancellara] beat me a few times in a sprint and Sagan is faster than me, b꧙ut on an uphill finish and after a hard race I’m confident I can win. It’s perhaps never worked out before. But you have to keep trying and it’s always nice to see those guys in the results behind you.”
Van Avermaet will kick off his Classics campaign aꦯ♓t Milan-San Remo. BMC does not have a designated sprinter and so he revealed that his dream scenario would be to go with an attack on the Poggio.
“Just winning the race would be a dream come true,” he said. “Perhaps getting with a good group o🥃ver the Poggio would be a good scenario for me. I think I have the legs to get over it and I’m confident that I can sprint well in a small group. Sprinting and beating the guys I beat today would be a great victory for me.”
to subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel.
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.