Belgium’s Van Avermaet prevails in brutal Olympic road race (The Associated Press)

Moments after crossing the finish line, Greg Van Avermaet lamented the many times he’d fallen just short and all the close calls that have marked his cycling career. The popular Belgian out-sprinted Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark and Rafal Majka of Poland on the long run to the finish at Copacabana Beach on Saturday, winning a chaotic men’s Olympic road race marked by brutal climbs, withering heat and a crash involving the leaders on the final harrowing descent. The perilous conditions vanquished multiple Tour de France winners and several prerace faces, and left plenty of riders with scrapes, bruises and bloody road rash.