Greg Van Avermaet delighted to prove pundits wrong and claim Olympic gold

The three medallists in the men's Olympic road race at Rio 2016 gave their thoughts on the race soon after crossing the finish line

(Image credit: Watson)

A brutal day in the saddle saw Greg Van Avermaet come out on top in the men's Olympic road race, a result he was understandably pleased with — but it wasn't an easy victory by any means.

An incredibly demanding day on the bike led to a hectic day of attacks and counter-attacks. In the end, it came down to a group of three as Van Avermaet (Belgium), Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) and Rafal Majka (Poland) took gold, silver and bronze, respectively.

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Jack Elton-Walters hails from the Isle of Wight, and would be quick to tell anyone that it's his favourite place to ride. He has covered a varied range of topics for Cycling Weekly, producing articles focusing on tech, professional racing and cycling culture. He moved on to work for Cyclist Magazine in 2017 where he stayed for four years until going freelance. He now returns to Cycling Weekly from time-to-time to cover racing, review cycling gear and write longer features for print and online.