Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) has been named Belgian Sportsman of the year at the 50th Sport Gala.

Winner of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Tirreno Adriatico and the Lioran stage at the Tour de France after which he wore the yellow jersey for three days, Van Avermaet also won the Olympic gold medal in a superb race in Rio last August. 

In early November, Van Avermaet beat Nafissatou Thiam (Athletics) for the National Trophy of Sporting Merit 2016 but the prize for Belgian sportsman of the year has a category both for men and women. While Van Avermaet won sportsman of the year award ahead of Pieter Timmers (swimming) and David Goffin (tennis), Nafi Thiam is she Belgian sportswoman of the year.

After crash on November 12 during a mountain bike trip, Van Avermaet has had a painful end of the year. Having suffered a small fracture in his left ankle, he underwent surgery a few days later which has delayed his preparation. Nevertheless, the BMC rider recently said that he should be present for the first major race of the season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where he is the defending champion but that he may not be as advanced in his preparation as he was this year

Van Avermaet will mainly focus on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, two races that failed for him in 2016. He had to skip E3 Harelbeke and when he crashed out of the Tour of Flanders, he also had to skip Paris-Roubaix.