Van Aert back on bike less than a week after elbow surgery

The Visma | Lease a Bike rider completed a ride of almost 68 kilometres at an average speed of 30.6 kilometres per hour, according to an activity posted on Strava.

“First attempt at holding my handlebars again,” Van Aert wrote alongside the ride.

The 31-year-old took part in a group ride organised by Oliva Fund, a charity from the Kempen region that raises money in the fight against childhood cancer.

Although the outing was not a full training session, Van Aert’s return to the bike represents an encouraging step in his recovery after a serious infection forced him out of the Tour de France.

Van Aert injured his elbow in a training crash before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. He was initially able to continue racing and went on to win stage four, but withdrew the following morning after the wound became infected and his elbow began to swell significantly.

He returned to Belgium, where the situation quickly worsened. Van Aert was admitted to hospital in Herentals and underwent surgery to clean the wound. He remained under observation overnight and was treated with antibiotics.

His coach, Mathieu Heijboer, later revealed that the infection could have developed into sepsis.

“It was a bacterial infection that developed during the race, because there had been no reason for concern beforehand,” Heijboer told Het Laatste Nieuws. “How the bacteria entered the wound remains a mystery.”

“At one point it was a very serious situation, otherwise he would not have been admitted to hospital.”

According to Heijboer, quick action by the medical staff prevented more severe complications.

Van Aert’s health concerns left Visma with little choice but to rule him out of the Tour de France. He had been expected to play a key role in support of Jonas Vingegaard, but the team did not want to create a situation in which he would be under pressure to recover in time.

“It was a difficult decision, but at the same time an easy one,” Heijboer said. “There was not much doubt about whether he could start. The situation was clear.”

It will be the first time since joining the team in 2019 that Van Aert has missed the Tour. The Belgian has won ten stages in the race, including the final stage in Paris last year.

Visma | Lease a Bike will announce its Tour selection on Tuesday. Bart Lemmen, Wilco Kelderman, Jørgen Nordhagen, Davide Piganzolli and Ben Tulett are considered the leading candidates to replace Van Aert.

The rest of Van Aert’s programme for 2026 has yet to be confirmed. He had originally been scheduled to ride both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.