Olympic road race champion Greg van Avermaet on Sunday said that winning the virtual edition of the Tour of Flanders, held instead of the real race due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was “funny.”
Van Avermaet, 35, was joined by 12 other cyclists in racing the final 32km of De Ronde, one of cycling’s five one-day “Monuments,” which was broadcast online after being postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Van Avermaet’s daughter was seen on screen with her father in their attic room as CCC Team’s Belgian rider finished 20 seconds ahead of compatriot Oliver Naesen and Ireland’s Nicolas Roche.
Photo: AFP
“It was a funny feeling, you suffered without having the feeling of being in the races,” said Van Avermaet, who was born in the region.
“My girl, who couldn’t understand why her dad was busy racing at home, was very happy for me,” he added.
Australian Michael Matthews failed to finish, while seventh-placed Tim Wellens raced from his balcony in Monaco.
“The effect of the wind was also replicated, the effort was much more difficult for the rider in front than those behind,” Lotto-Soudal’s Wellens said after racing from his home on the Mediterranean coast.
“I had without doubt a better view than Olivier Naesen, who was pedaling in his basement in Belgium,” Wellens added.
Earlier in the day, the race organizer said that it could reschedule the race itself for later in the calendar.
“The goal is to still organize De Ronde later this year. Everyone has agreed on that, but for now it’s just hypothetical discussions because we don’t know when the crisis will end,” Flanders Classics chief executive Tomas van den Spiegel told Flemish TV channel VRT.
Virtual champion Van Avermaet said he hoped it would take place, which would give him a shot at going one better than his two second-placed finishes in 2014 and 2017.
“I hope the real Tour of Flanders can take place in the autumn and I can really win it,” he said.
The race was viewed by more than 21,000 people on YouTube and it was also shown on Belgian TV.
This year’s week-long Tour de Suisse, originally set for early June, has also discussed the idea of holding an online version of the race.
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