Newly crowned Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet will return to the BMC Racing Team ranks this weekend when he joins an eight-rider squad at the UCI WorldTour one-day race Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France.

Sports Director Fabio Baldato said with Van Avermaet on the roster the team is going into the race with a lot of motivation.

“This year, the parcours has changed almost completely with only the last final 30 kilometers remaining the same. It’s like a new race so it will be interesting to see how everyone gets on. We are taking a strong squad including five of the riders who showed good form last weekend in Hamburg as well as experienced riders like Michael Schär, Amaël Moinard and of course Greg Van Avermaet.”

“With Van Avermaet coming into this race, we head to Brittany with a leader. I think he will be motivated after the Tour de France and, of course, his win in Rio. While we don’t want to put too much pressure on him, I am sure he will come to the race, as he does at every race, ready to do his best and fight to the finish,” Baldato said.

Van Avermaet is ready to get back to racing after his triumphant trip to Rio.

“Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France will be my first race since Rio so I'm really looking forward to getting back on the bike and racing as Olympic champion. I think we've got a strong team so I'm really motivated to do a good race and start the final part of the season,” Van Avermaet added.

Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France Rider roster:

Marcus Burghardt, Amaël Moinard, Daniel Oss, Michael Schär, Manuel Senni, Greg Van Avermaet, Peter Velits and Loïc Vliegen.