Just 10 days after crashing out of the Exact Cross at Mol and sustaining a small fracture to his ankle, Wout van Aert is back training on the road.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider posted the 33km ride on his Strava account, calling it 'Monday's Victory'. Despite the fact the ride was his first since surgery, he still managed a personal best on the Heidereef Climb segment, though he was way off the overall best time.
Van Aert had been battling with arch-rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in the snowy Zilvermeercross at Mol, part of the Exactcross series, when he crashed. The incident occurred on a left-hand bend, where a tarmac section was totally covered by snow.
While Van Aert remounted his bike, by the time he reached the pits to take a new machine he could barely walk, team staff appearing to stop him continuing.
“Wout is experiencing pain in his ankle,” sports director Jan Boven said after the race. “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.”
The team later announced the Belgian had undergone successful surgery on the ankle and that he was recovering.
Boven was certainly not wrong. While Van Aert had failed to convincingly challenge the Dutchman in their previous encounters, he had been improving race-by-race and the win seemed a genuine possibility. However, the injury ended his cyclo-cross season, and he is now set on preparing for the Spring Classics.
