Greg Van Avermaet's kit may have switched to the eye-catchingly bright orange of CCC in 2019, and the team's line-up has altered equally radically, but for the Belgian star, this year is all about business as usual. The 2016 Olympic champion is eyeing a very similar race programme to 2018, and Van Avermaet told Cyclingnews that he is aiming to hit the ground running at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. "I'm exactly where I want to be. I didn't have big problems this winter with my training, and I feel really ready to start the season – ready to start the Classics," Van Avermaet said as he sat at the foot of the stairs of the CCC Team bus prior to the start of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.ADVERTISEMENT Van Avermaet said he hopes to get through his first two races of the season – Valenciana and the Tour of Oman – "without any problems, and then go from Het Nieuwsblad to Amstel Gold full-on, which is where it really counts". After so long in the game, it almost goes without saying that the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is his first big objective, and when Van Avermaet ticks off the reasons why that is so, it is almost as if he's on autopilot: "It's a Belgian race, it's WorldTour, and I've won it twice already." No further justification needed.
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