diff --git a/include/vg/io/gafkluge.hpp b/include/vg/io/gafkluge.hpp
index b59d59d..684323d 100644
--- a/include/vg/io/gafkluge.hpp
+++ b/include/vg/io/gafkluge.hpp
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ inline void parse_gaf_record(const std::string& gaf_line, GafRecord& gaf_record)
             GafStep step;
             pos = buffer.find_first_of("><", pos);
             next = buffer.find_first_of("><", pos + 1);
-            std::string step_token = buffer.substr(pos, next != std::string::npos ? next - pos + 1 : std::string::npos);
+            std::string step_token = buffer.substr(pos, next != std::string::npos ? next - pos : std::string::npos);
             size_t colon = step_token.find_first_of(':');
             step.is_reverse = step_token[0] == '<';
             if (colon == std::string::npos) {