'I will only be happy if I win a Classic,' says Belgian
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Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Olympic gold medallist, at Eneco Tour(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg Van Avermaet sprints to victory ahead of Peter Sagan at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) gets the better of Peter Sagan, reversing the GP Quebec result from Friday(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg Van Avermaet enjoying the sunshine(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
BMC's Greg Van Avermaet said he will only be happy if he wins a Classic this spring, with the Olympic road race gold medalist targeting Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the first part of his 2017 season.
The 2016 Olympic Road Race Champion unveiled the race programme while attending the Velofollies bike show in Belgium on Friday. He will begin his 2017 season at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in Spain February 1-5.
The 31-year-old will follow up the Spanish stage race with a trip to the Tour of Oman before taking on Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where he is the defending champion, and then Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne the following day.
Van Avermaet then heads to Italy for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo before returning to Northern Europe for the heart of his Classics campaign. He will race E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, with the Amstel Gold Race to close out his bid for a major one-day victory this spring.
"I will only be happy if I win a Classic, the big races between Milan-Sanremo and the Amstel Gold Race," HLN.be reported him as saying during his visit to Velofollies, narrowing down his main objectives.
Van Avermaet had to overcome a blow to his off-season preparations after suffering a non-displaced, distal left fibula fracture during a mountain bike ride in November.
The Belgian underwent a successful surgery just a few days later in an attempt to speed up the recovery process. He say he is now trying to play catch up on missed training, and that although he feels good, he'll only know for sure that he's recovered when he resumes competing.
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