Promising Wout van Aert update as recovery speeds up
Good news from the Team Visma | Lease a Bike camp as Wout van Aert continues to progress after the ankle fracture he suffered at Zilvermeercross in Mol. Just over two weeks on, his coach Jan Boven has offered an optimistic update on the Belgian’s rehabilitation and the impact on his 2026 plans.
When Van Aert crashed on 2 January during a hard fought battle with Mathieu van der Poel, the immediate question was how the injury would affect his build up toward the spring. The fracture required surgery, but Boven told Wielerflits that the recovery is ahead of schedule.
“It is undoubtedly going faster than we expected,” Boven said. “He was back on the bike just three days after his operation. We thought he might be able to do some light training on the indoor trainer after a week, but he has already completed another six hour training ride in Spain.”
Boven also pointed to how Van Aert is feeling in daily contact. “I spoke to him at length yesterday and he is feeling very good.”
The injury raised doubts about his timetable for the spring, but Boven says the damage has been limited. “It also helps that his period of inactivity was not very long,” Boven said. “He has hardly fallen behind at all, and he can certainly look ahead to the Spring Classics with confidence.”
Those Spring Classics remain Van Aert’s main target in 2026, as he reiterated in a team press statement earlier this week. “In the spring, I want to be there from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad all the way through to Roubaix. I want to show myself everywhere and seize every opportunity that comes my way.”
After two seasons built around reduced racing in March and longer altitude blocks, Van Aert is set to return to a more conventional run in.
The plan is to be on the start line for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo, before shifting the focus to the cobbled Monuments, with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix still the races he wants most.
