Greg Van Avermaet has been awarded the prestigious Flandrien of the year award at a ceremony in Belgium by winning a vote ahead of Tom Boonen. Chris Froome has been awarded the international title for his many victories in stage races throughout the year.
Flanders is one of the cycling-mad regions of Europe and it is no wonder that the Frandrien of the year award is one of the most prestigious end-of-season prizes. Based on a very consistent performance, Greg Van Avermaet has been awarded the honour for his results in 2013.
As it has often been the case, Van Avermaet was the strongest BMC rider in most of the major classics when teammates Philppe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd failed to live up to expectations. He finished 3rd in Gent-Wevelgem, 7th in the Tour of Flanders, 4th in Paris-Roubaix and 6th in Brabantse Pijl, thus being one of the most consistent riders in the spring.
Despite his many good results, he failed to win a race in the spring season. However, he made up for that in the autumn when he kicked off the second part of his season by winning two stages and the overall in the Tour de Wallonie.
From there, he was almost unstoppable. He crossed the Atlantic to win a stage and finish runner-up on three consecutive stages in the Tour of Utah. He finished in the top 5 on four stages of the USA Pro Challenge before heading back to Europe for the GP Ouest France Plouay where his late attack was neutralized with less than 1km to go.
He was back in North America for the GP Quebec and Montreal where he was 3rd and 4th respectively before being part of the Belgian team for the world championships. At the end of the season, he was 19th in Il Lombardia and 3rd in Binche-Chimay-Binche before ending the year with an aggressive showing in Paris-Tours.
He won the award ahead of Tom Boonen who was 2nd despite an injury-plagued season while Sven Nys, Jan Bakelants, Philippe Gilbert and Gianni Meersman had also received nominations.
"I don't think anyone stood out," he said according to Sporza. "I would like to thank my colleagues who appreciated my regularity by casting their vote."
Despite his mange good results, Van Avermaet's only classics victory is the 2011 Paris-Tours. He hopes to finally add a big monument to his palmares in 2014.
"It is still difficult for me to win a great Classic but that is my goal," he said. "I keep chasing the big win by working hard."
The international prize went to Chris Froome who impressed the entire cycling world by winning the Tour of Oman, Criterium Internattional, Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphiné before going on the win the Tour de France in July.
"It is an honor to win this prize," Froome said. "A Flandrien is to me someone, no matter how tough the conditions are, never gives up. Someone who has the character of a fighter."
The U23 prize was awarded to Jasper Stuyven while Jessie Daems was given the women's honour.
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