Van Avermaet: I was too honest and left a gap for Colbrelli
(Cyclingnews.com)

Sonny Colbrelli, lapping up the applause on the podium after stage 4 of the Tour of Oman, described him as a `gentleman´, but Greg Van Avermaet was finding that being a nice guy was scant consolation for finishing last. As they charged for the line on the false flat finishing straight, Van Avermaet led the way on the right-hand side of the road but left a gap to the barrier. Colbrelli, who gave warning, didn´t hesitate and punched through to take his and Bahrain-Merida´s first victory of the season. `I have to thank Greg Van Avermaet, because he didn´t close me against the barriers. He was a gentleman,` Colbrelli said. `I told him `I´m coming right side, right side´, and it was perfect, so I have to say thanks to Greg.`ADVERTISEMENT The thanks will mean little to Van Avermaet, who was left cursing himself for being `too honest`. The Olympic champion is not a pure sprinter and perhaps not as well versed in the dark arts of the dog-eat-dog world that is bunch sprinting. `Normally, a sprinter closes in a guy who comes from the right. Colbrelli was out of the wind. I started the sprint quite early, and if I really go to the right, maybe he has to come around and it´s harder for him to come over, and maybe it´s a different story. I left too much of a gap open, I think. It´s just a bit sad, because if I hadn´t have done that it would´ve been better, but it is how it is.` The sense of disappointment was deepened by the hard yards Van Avermaet´s CCC Team had put in just to engineer a situation where he was sprinting for victory.´ You can read more at Cyclingnews.com