Van Avermaet: I was too honest and left a gap for Colbrelli
19 February 2019 12:12
Sonny Colbrelli, lapping up the applause on the podium after stage 4 of the Tour of Oman, described him as a ‘gentleman’, but Greg Van Avermaet was finding that being a nice guy was scant consolation for finishing last. As they charged for the line on the false flat finishing straight, Van Avermaet led the way on the right-hand side of the road but left a gap to the barrier. Colbrelli, who gave warning, didn’t hesitate and punched through to take his and Bahrain-Merida’s first victory of the season. “I have to thank Greg Van Avermaet, because he didn’t close me against the barriers. He was a gentleman,” Colbrelli said. “I told him ‘I’m coming right side, right side’, and it was perfect, so I have to say thanks to Greg.”ADVERTISEMENT The thanks will mean little to Van Avermaet, who was left cursing himself for being “too honest”. The Olympic champion is not a pure sprinter and perhaps not as well versed in the dark arts of the dog-eat-dog world that is bunch sprinting. “Normally, a sprinter closes in a guy who comes from the right. Colbrelli was out of the wind. I started the sprint quite early, and if I really go to the right, maybe he has to come around and it’s harder for him to come over, and maybe it’s a different story. I left too much of a gap open, I think. It’s just a bit sad, because if I hadn’t have done that it would’ve been better, but it is how it is.” The sense of disappointment was deepened by the hard yards Van Avermaet’s CCC Team had put in just to engineer a situation where he was sprinting for victory.´
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