Videos | Visma Lease a Bike concerned over Van Aert injury after heavy crash

Wout van Aert fell heavily on his right leg in the snow, the same leg he mangled in a crash at La Vuelta 2024, with the Belgian clearly limping as he left the venue in Mol

Wout van Aert (Visma Lease a Bike) was matching world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) at the front of Exact Cross Mol today when he crashed heavily in the snow and was then forced to abandon.

Though he got going after the incident, on a sweeping right hander on the sixth lap of nine, he soon ground to a halt, exiting the race as he limped heavily in the pits area. And that limp was still very clear to see as he left the venue later, with his team now expressing some concern over his condition.

“Wout is experiencing pain in his ankle,” said Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Jan Boven. “We will conduct further examinations before drawing any conclusions. It’s a shame the race had to end this way, because Wout was very strong, and it was a great duel.”

Advertisement

Van Aert and van der Poel are scheduled to meet again at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Zonhoven on Sunday. However, it is unclear if Van Aert - who had blood on his right knee - will be able to make the start line or if he will race again this season.

"The cyclocross in Zonhoven is in two days, which is pretty soon," Boven said. "But we can't give a 100 per cent definitive answer yet."

Boven expressed frustration at Van Aert's crash as he believed the Belgian rider was much stronger today than in recent races. "In Loenhout, the battle with Van der Poel was also close, but he had two punctures. Today he seemed really at ease."

Related News

Related News