Greg Van Avermaat of the CCC team was the first to cross the virtual finish line of the Tour of Flanders (opens in new tab) in Oudenaarde on Sunday, winning the 34-km online simulation using a static trainer E sports race, he won the "locked-down" version of the Tour of Flanders (opens in new tab). However, the 34-year-old Belgian fears that the Coronavirus pandemic will rob him of his last chance to win the real race.

Van Avermaat did not hide his aversion to running indoors, but he wanted to provide entertainment for the fans and represent his sponsors at a time when the team is cutting salaries and staff.

"It's good to do it during these difficult times. It's good for the sponsors and good for cycling as a whole. It's not real Flanders, but at least it's entertainment."

Indeed, many Belgians tuned in, with 613,000 viewers on the TV station Sporza.

"It's crazy. I think everybody in Belgium was watching. It's very special. My girlfriend said there were a lot of people cheering in front of my house," Van Avermaat said.

"I don't want to get too excited about this win. It's good entertainment, but hopefully we can get back on the road soon."

Van Avermaat has a rich spring record, winning Paris-Roubaix, E3, Ghent-Wevelgem, and Omloop-Het Nieuwsblad, but he has so far been without a win in his most familiar race, the Tour de Flanders.

With all the races not taking place until at least June, there will be no spring classics, and Van Avermaet can only hope that the Tour of Flanders, where he has three podiums and four top-10 finishes, will be postponed rather than cancelled altogether!

The Tour of Flanders is scheduled to start in August.

He will turn 35 next month and is acutely aware of the passage of time.

"As an old man, I don't have many more chances to win in Flanders. If I lose another chance at this time of the year, it would not be perfect for my sporting career," he told reporters on a video call.

The Olympics, postponed to the summer of 2021, are similar. Van Avermaat could be Olympic champion for another year, but he would rather have the chance to win an unprecedented double crown this year.

"I'm certainly disappointed. I'm getting older and next year is not perfect. We were confident that we could still do something on the course and everything. I was confident that next year I could still do something, on the course and everything.

"When you don't have something like this, you know you can't take everything for granted. You have to enjoy it more because your career is short. That's what we need to learn from this crisis."

Juan Avermaat is fortunate that he is still able to train outdoors in Belgium, but it remains to be seen when racing will resume and how much he can save this season.

The UCI has suspended the race until June, and at least for now the Tour de France is scheduled to take place on June 27, but there is widespread doubt that it will actually take place unless it can be postponed to later in the summer.

The cycling federations have already agreed to extend the season, and the best hope would be to hold a few key races as the fall deepens.

"I'm hoping for the Tour de France - if it's possible, of course - because that's a big thing," Van Avermaet said.

"If the Tour is cancelled, it will be difficult to have a good season and have sponsors support us.

Van Avermaert insisted that the UCI has a "big role" in determining when the season will resume, and that it should only resume when the playing field is level in terms of national coronavirus regulations. 'It should be all or nothing in that regard.

Even if they are rescheduled, it will be up to the UCI to decide how to fit many races into the short time frame. Some races have already decided to cancel all races this year, but the Giro d'Italia and the spring classics all need to make room.

"If possible, we would like to hold the Monument at the end of the year so as not to leave any space in Palmares. The Grand Tour is another big event; there are nine weeks of racing, so we have to make space for it. It's not easy.

"We certainly want to have longer races because we want feedback from our sponsors and we want to recoup as much of the publicity we lost.

As for competing in the Classics in the fall: "I can't imagine it, but I know I have to.

"The situation might change a little bit depending on the weather, but it could be a rainy day. Condition-wise, we just need the Grand Tour to stay in our legs. Some riders are in good shape after the Grand Tour, others have a hard time recovering from it.

"It would be great to have Roubaix, Flanders, and Milan-San Remo again. Otherwise, it would be a lost year for the Classics riders. We don't have that many opportunities on the cycling calendar, so if this goes away it will be really bad news for us."