MADRID, 27 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet, Olympic champion in Rio 2016, and the Australian Ben O’Connor, fourth in the last Tour de France, will be the leaders of the French group AG2R Citröen in the 68th edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía, which will be held from February 16 to 20, the organizers report in a statement.
Van Avermaet and Ben O’Connor lead a team that includes Swiss Michael Schär, former junior world champion Felix Gall, Frenchman Benoit Cosnefroy, fellow Belgian Stan de Wulf and veteran rider Oliver Naesen.
Van Avermaet has achieved more than 40 victories as a professional, has contested 12 grand tours, including 9 Tours de France and has ridden more than 50 classics. His record includes, apart from the Olympic gold in 2016, a Paris-Roubaix, a Tirreno-Adriatico, two stage victories in the Tour, one in La Vuelta a España and the regularity general.
For his part, Australian Ben O’Connor won the stage of the 2021 Tour de France that ended in Tignes and was fourth overall. In addition, he has also achieved a stage victory in the Giro in another mythical hilltop finish, Madonna di Campiglio.