By milatin.com3 Mins Read
Wout van Aert has returned to the location of his horror crash from Dwars door Vlaanderen final season, the place he was left screaming in agony as his Classics season got here to a painful finish.
The Belgian was half of a giant Visma-Lease a Bike group that explored the Flemish hills and cobbled roads he is aware of so effectively on a 97km route beginning and ending in Oudenaarde the end location of the Tour of Flanders.
All through the trip, which Van Aert captioned “The everything-that-is-beautiful route” on his Strava, he and his teammates took in well-known bergs such because the Wolvenberg, Molenberg, Valkenberg, Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg.
Nonetheless, it’s the run into the Kanarieberg which stood out on Visma’s route, because the sweeping, quick street that precedes the climb’s begin, the N48 (Ninoofsesteenweg), is the place Van Aert crashed laborious in March and broke his collarbone and ribs.
The Kanarieberg can be the place his teammates Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot received into the profitable transfer at Dwars door Vlaanderen earlier than the American went on to take a bittersweet victory.
They had been each current on the trip, alongside Olav Kooij, Christophe Laporte, Dylan van Baarle, Per Strand Hagenes and several other new younger signings, Loe van Belle, Matthews Brennan, Menno Huising and under-23 world champion Niklas Behrens.
It was a usually moist Flandrien day on the cobbles and a “Kick off” to the 2025 Classics for Van Aert, who will probably be hoping for higher luck come subsequent spring and a cleaner run at each De Ronde and Paris-Roubaix, two large races he has been a runner-up at however by no means gained.
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Final season was characterised by unhealthy fortune for Van Aert, along with his return from damage solely arriving a month previous to the beginning of the Tour de France, the place he was away from his in-time stage-winning greatest.
Nonetheless, he did refind his greatest legs at a Vuelta a España debut late within the season, earlier than he then crashed once more and injured his new, ruling him out of the World Championships in Zürich.
That knee damage can be nonetheless affecting him to the purpose that he’s unlikely to be seen within the cyclocross season till subsequent 12 months, in response to Belgian media, as he’s struggling to run.
Nonetheless, that self-discipline had grow to be one thing Van Aert solely does in support of his street season, his coach mentioned final 12 months, with a powerful Classics and return to high type on the Tour de France probably the most important targets for the versatile Belgian within the new 12 months. May 2025 lastly be the 12 months Van Aert wins The Ronde?
