Van Aert will have a cyclocross season if he recovers in time
After his dramatic accident in La Vuelta 2024 that forced him to withdraw from the race and also to give up the Zurich World Championship, Wout van Aert reappeared in public, walking with crutches, which the Belgian media took advantage of to question him about his situation and his plans for the coming months.
Wout van Aert reappears in public showing optimism and already thinking about cyclocross
The presentation of a road safety campaign has allowed us to see Wout van Aert in public again after the serious fall he suffered in La Vuelta 2024 and shortly after his lifelong contract with Visma-Lease a Bike was announced. The Belgian, who still has to walk with crutches, explained his injury in detail "At first it seemed like a strong blow, but there was no fracture. But, upon returning to Belgium, they detected a huge hematoma in a delicate point of the joint in addition to needing stitches for the cut he suffered."
"I had to spend 10 days without moving in bed. In addition, there was a risk of infection so it had to be treated with antibiotics to avoid having to operate again," commented the Belgian before pointing out that, fortunately, cartilage, patella, and ligaments were intact, in fact, he indicated that the injury, despite being spectacular, is much less serious than the one he suffered in A Través de Flandes last spring.
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Despite the difficulty of withdrawing from La Vuelta when he had practically won the green jersey, Van Aert highlighted the support of his family to overcome these difficult moments "It is important to put everything into perspective. It has not been my best season, I have had many setbacks but I am proud of what I have been able to do" and already thinking about 2025, starting with the cyclocross campaign "The only problem is that running and jumping can be a bit complicated at first, but that is my goal."
A presence of Wout van Aert in the cyclocross season would be a blessing for the discipline in a campaign that presents itself orphaned of the three greats, with a Tom Pidcock who still has no plans for this winter as he recently stated and a Mathieu van der Poel who last winter hinted that he would like to try a season without doing cyclocross in winter.
In any case, what is certain is that Van Aert's recovery is going well and in his mind is to face the objectives that were left unfinished this 2024 "Whatever happens, I want to start 2025 with new challenges and perform as best as possible in the classics".