Wout van Aert (Visma Lease a Bike) has spoken openly of the troubles he endured, and how he changed as an athlete - wanting an easier career with less risk - after two major crashes. He added the injuries took more out of him physically and mentally than they would have if he was stilled aged 20 years.
“At some point, with the injuries and the setbacks, I swapped more to the idea of taking it a bit more easy, to avoid risks or danger, to take an easier schedule, to change goals," he said. "But I hated the races when I wasn’t on my level. I realised that I was in cycling to be the best version of myself and to have no regrets afterwards.”
And the fact the two incidents last year - at Dwars door Vlaanderen in March and at La Vuelta in September - happened so close together caused him major problems. Van Aert broke his collarbone and fractured ribs during the first crash, at high speed on March 27th.
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While he was back in action - returning at Tour of Norway - on May 23rd, he said he had only begun to recapture his past powers when, on September 3rd, he crashed on stage 16 at La Vuelta.
He had already won three stages on the race and was leading the climbers' and points classifications. But in the crash he suffered a bruised bone near his knee, which he smashed open after hitting a rock face on a descent. The bruising and wound resulted in a slow return even to walking, nevermind training.
“It was just too quick after the injury before,” Van Aert told The New York Times of his crash during the Vuelta. “I realised it was going to be exactly the same again. It was too much. I think every athlete gets used to being injured and coming back.
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"But having these one after the other made me think about doing all this recovery again and then crashing out next year. Am I willing to do that over and over again? That was a mental struggle. When you’re younger, when you’re 20 years old, you don’t even really think that you’ve been crashing.
"It’s not even in the back of your mind. But then after a couple of injuries, you understand what it’s like. It’s normal that you carry this with you. Every injury gets more complicated, and it doesn’t help when you get a family and have children.
“Eventually, at the Vuelta, I found my best legs again, was really at my top level, and could win some nice races. I felt like: ‘Finally, I’m back.’ And then I crashed out of the Vuelta.”
Van Aert explained when he looked down at his right leg, which is heavily scarred, seeing those scars made things a little harder as it reminded him of what he had been through.
However, now aged 31 years, he said he was still determined to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, which have eluded him so far in his career.
He added when he won the final stage of the Tour de France last year, dropping GC winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on the Montmartre climb, he deliberately stood up on the bike to celebrate the win on the Champs-Elysées.
“I had this salute in my head for a while,” he said. “After I was injured, I had a goal. I just wanted to show that I’m still there, that I can be among the best riders. I wanted to show I’m still standing. And so I went up on the pedals as I went over the finish. That’s that. There.”
