A few months later he won a stage in the Tour de Wallonie, as well as the prestigious one-day race Rund um die Hainleite in Germany and the Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen in Belgium.

[16][17] In May, he won the Ardennes stage in the Tour of Belgium, but lost the leader's jersey the next day to Stijn Devolder and finished second overall.

He made a remarkable debut, with a victory on stage 9 of the race, when he outsprinted ten other breakaway companions in Sabiñánigo, ahead of Davide Rebellin.

[27] He was second again five days later in the Grand Prix de Wallonie, before competing in the World Road Race Championships in Valkenburg, in the Netherlands.

He finished second in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Tour of Flanders, losing both races in the sprint, to Ian Stannard and Fabian Cancellara respectively.

[37][38] In the summer, he entered the Tour de France, in which he helped his leader Tejay van Garderen to fifth place in the general classification and finished 38th himself.

[41] Three days later, he won the GP Impanis-Van Petegem, earning him the leadership in the Belgian line-up for the World championships in Ponferrada, Spain.

He outsprinted the green jersey wearer Peter Sagan, and fellow Belgian Jan Bakelants on an uphill finish in Rodez.

[55] Less than two weeks later, on 1 August 2015, Van Avermaet looked on his way to victory in the Clásica de San Sebastián, when he was hit from behind by one of the motorbikes providing television coverage just before the top of the final climb.

[56] In the aftermath of the incident, his BMC Racing Team claimed the crash had cost him victory and threatened legal action over "millions of dollars in lost publicity".

His attempts to catch Sagan failed as his chase companion Edvald Boasson Hagen was not allowed to work in the pursuit and both were caught by the returning peloton in the final kilometer.

[75][76] After his return from injury in May, he competed in the Tour of California and the Critérium du Dauphiné, before placing third in the Belgian National Road Race Championships behind Philippe Gilbert and Tim Wellens.

[79] On 6 August 2016, Van Avermaet won the men's individual road race at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

[8] He initially joined a six-man breakaway on the first of three passes of the 25.7-kilometre (16.0 mi) Vista Chinesa Circuit loop, and managed to stay in contact with several climbing specialists on the next ascents.

[80][81] Van Avermaet won the three-man sprint on Copacabana Beach before Fuglsang and Majka to claim the Olympic gold medal.

He won his second consecutive Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, again after beating Peter Sagan in a three-man sprint in Ghent;[91] and finished seventh in Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne the next day.

[98][99] Van Avermaet became the second rider to win Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke and Gent–Wevelgem in the same season, after Jan Raas in 1981, and moved into the lead of the UCI World Tour.

[100] Still seeking his first win in a monument classic, he was favourite for the Tour of Flanders, but crashed on the final ascent of Oude Kwaremont together with Peter Sagan as they were chasing Philippe Gilbert.

After the sector of Carrefour de l'Arbre, only Zdeněk Štybar and Sebastian Langeveld were with him, and Van Avermaet outsprinted his companions for the win on the Roubaix Velodrome.

Van Avermaet's average speed of 45.204 kilometres per hour (28.088 mph) was the fastest in Paris–Roubaix history, breaking the previous record set by Peter Post in 1964.

[116] In the cobbled classics of Belgium and France, Van Avermaet was at the front in every race but failed to secure a win, finishing third in E3 Harelbeke,[117] 14th in Gent–Wevelgem,[118] and eighth in Dwars door Vlaanderen.

[120] One week later he was fourth at Paris–Roubaix, after his move on the cobbled sector of Auchy-lez-Orchies was counter-attacked by the eventual winner Peter Sagan at 54 km from Roubaix.

Van Avermaet moved into the yellow jersey on the third day of the Tour after BMC won the team time trial in Cholet.

Van Avermaet was beaten by John Degenkolb in a three-man sprint after they broke clear at 17 km (11 mi) from the finish.

[126] In August, Van Avermaet finished fourth in the Clásica de San Sebastián,[127] 25th in the European road race championship in Glasgow and was sixth overall in the BinckBank Tour.

Poland-based shoe retailer CCC became the new title sponsor, leaving Van Avermaet as the prime anchor of the team.

[132] He finished second at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad behind Zdeněk Štybar, sixth in Strade Bianche, third in E3 Harelbeke and a disappointing tenth in the Tour of Flanders.

[133] On 15 September 2019 Van Avermaet won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal for the second time in his career.

[134] In April 2015 the Royal Belgian Cycling League requested a two-year ban for Van Avermaet, the disqualification of all his results during the 2012 season and a €262,500 fine following an investigation into suspected anti-doping offences.

It was reported in the Belgian media that their accusations focused on allegations of Van Avermaet's use of the corticoid Diprophos, and Vaminolact, a fortified baby food which is banned from being injected.