Greg Van Avermaet wins Tour of Belgium

Lokeren’s Greg Van Avermaet claimed the 85th Tour of Belgium yesterday, winning the final stage of the five-day event by narrowly holding off second-placed Tiesj Benoot.

Van Avermaet, 30, is a two-time runner-up in the Tour, a race that has long been dominated by Swiss time-trial specialist Tony Martin. This year the race didn’t include a long time trial, making Van Avermaet the favourite.

It was only in the final stage that the Belgian cyclist imposed himself: Helped by his teammates at BMC Racing Team, Van Avermaet (pictured) edged firmly ahead of his rivals – including Tom Boonen and Jürgen Roelandts – by the close. “We controlled the race all day long,” Van Avermaet said. “I spent a little bit of energy there but not too much.”

Sunday’s final stage in the Ardennes brought the riders over almost 200 kilometres in the hills around Sankt Vith – familiar to the Liege-Bastogne-Liege territory – with 10 categorised climbs, including the famous Haute-Levee, Col du Rosier and Cote de Stockeu.

Photo by Tim de Waele/Corbis