Greg Van Avermaet has revealed that he will retire from professional cycling at the end of 2023, after a brilliant 17-year career that saw him win some of the biggest races in the sport, including Paris-Roubaix, Gent-Wevelgem and the Olympic Road Race in 2016.
The Belgian made the announcement on Wednesday, ahead of this weekend’s UCI World Cup opener in Nove Mesto, Czechia, where he is racing for his current team, Astana Qazaqstan. He said it was the “perfect time” to share his plans.
“I’ve loved every moment of this race so far, so I feel it’s the perfect time to say it’s my last Giro d’Italia and 2023 will be my last season as a pro cyclist,” he said.
Van Avermaet was one of the best riders in the world from 2015 to 2020, winning stages at all three Grand Tours, the 2011 World Championships, Milan-San Remo in 2009 and three Madison world titles on the track. He also won a silver medal in the Omnium at the 2016 Olympics.
“The most important moment of my career was Rio because it was an Olympic title. I was always the guy who got a lot of good results, every race top 10, but before Rio I never really won a big race,” he told Procycling in 2019.
“It was a great gift actually to win this because it’s something different to all the other races. You can win Flanders, you can win Roubaix but not a lot of guys get to be Olympic champion in their career.”
Van Avermaet posted on Instagram (opens in new tab) that the “adventure will come to an end”, but that he had no regrets. He said he wanted to enjoy more time with his family and explore other passions after cycling.
“Cycling has been my life for over 25 years. I’ve lived a dream,” Van Avermaet said. “The bike has given me the chance to see the world and meet amazing people, many of whom are my friends. I love the sport more than you can imagine and I won’t be far from it, that’s for sure.”
“When you realize it’s not forever, it’s easier to enjoy every feeling this sport has to offer.”
“Today is my son Casper’s fifth birthday, and I’m lucky it’s a rest day and I can be with him. I think it’s important now that I can be there for every birthday for my wife Peta and all our kids,” he added.
“It’s important I can see all their school concerts and support them in their sports and hobbies. It’s important I can run around with them without fear of injury or illness.”
Van Avermaet started his career at Predictor-Lotto in 2007, where he won his first race, a stage of the Tour of Qatar. He joined BMC Racing in 2011, where he achieved most of his success. He won four stages and the green jersey at the Tour de France in 2021, riding an unbranded BMC Fourstroke.
He stayed with BMC until 2019, when he moved to CCC Team. He won the GP de Montréal that year, before joining AG2R Citroën in 2021.
He is still looking for his first win for Astana, but he has been close several times at this year’s Giro, finishing third and fourth on two stages. He will have one more chance to win a stage at the Giro on Wednesday in Caorle.
Van Avermaet said he was not obsessed with breaking Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stage wins at his final appearance at the Tour this July, but he would always race to win.
“If I had 45 wins at the Tour de France, I’d still go to the Tour de France to win,” he said. “If I had 18, I’d look for 19.”
We took a look back at Van Avermaet’s career in pictures when he signed for Astana earlier this year.
