Well, it is the winter and people get sick more than often, it seems.
Wout van Aert is scheduled to return to competition in roughly two weeks, when he lines up for the
Antwerp World Cup on Dec. 20. His preparation has been less than ideal. According to Dutch and Belgian media, he reportedly had to miss several training days due to illness.
Wout’s winter
On Strava, the Visma – Lease a Bike rider mentioned that he had taken his “first pedal strokes in a few days,” adding a cute ‘lil thermometer emoji to show he’d been feeling unwell. It’s not the lead-in he hoped for, but it remains unclear whether the setback will influence his opening cyclocross race on Antwerp’s sandy course.
The 31-year-old still has more than two weeks to rebuild rhythm before his long-anticipated face-off with Mathieu van der Poel, who is expected to return earlier, in Namur. Antwerp will be the first of five meetings between the two this winter, followed by Hofstade, Loenhout, Mol and Zonhoven.
Van Aert also plans to start in Heusden-Zolder, Dendermonde and the Belgian championships in early January. His team hasn’t ruled out the world championships in Hulst, the Netherlands. But this was the same case last season–it was a last minute kinda plan.
Meanwhile, his long-time friend–and rival, has announced his ‘cross season. The Dutchman will start his cyclocross season earlier than expected, confirming he’ll race the Namur World Cup on Dec. 14 after weeks of uncertainty.
Alpecin–Deceuninck announced the news while unveiling Premier Tech as a new cosponsor, noting that Van der Poel’s latest training block erased any remaining doubts about his readiness. Team manager Christoph Roodhooft said the world champion needed a longer reset than usual but now feels his form is coming together.
While Namur is locked in, the rest of his schedule may still shift to protect his road preparation, though a start at the world championships in Hulst—where he could set a new all-time record—is viewed as almost certain.