Wout van Aert has finally got back on his bike for the first time since the Vuelta crash that ended his season exactly one month ago.
Though the Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke no bones in that crash on stage 16th on September 3rd, Van Aert suffered very deep cuts, especially to his right knee.
The injury was more complicated and first believed and the he was forced to spend 10 days in bed, with no movement of his leg whatever, such as the damage.
“On returning to Belgium, a huge bruise was detected, fortunately not on the kneecap itself but in a vulnerable spot on the joint, and it needed stitches. That explains the pain I felt," he said recently.
“There was a risk of infection, too, so we had to treat it quite aggressively with antibiotics to avoid having another operation. That was a big setback.
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“Fortunately, my cartilage, kneecap and ligaments are all intact. So it is not an injury that will keep me off the bike permanently.”
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After his hospital stay, Van Aert faced a period on crutches and was not able to even sit on his bike until yesterday when he took to the open road for a gentle 32km ride in the region of Herentals, which took him just over an hour.
He shared the rider on Strava, below, with the caption: "Woo-hoo".
Asked recently if he would compete on the cyclocross scene this winter, and whether his injury would have recovered sufficiently to allow him a run at some races, he said:
“Nothing’s certain yet, and I will see how I feel, it would be a bit crazy to talk about that now,” he said. “The only problem is that running and jumping could be a bit tricky at first, but that’s my objective.
“Whatever happens I want to start 2025 with new goals and to perform as well as possible in the Classics. That’s my main aim for now.”
