Van Aert showing remarkable resilience and is now training with Matteo Jorgenson and others in Spain.
Wout van Aert pictured during the Visma Lease a Bike team presentation in Alicante, Spain, Tuesday 13 January 2026. (Photo: David Pintens/Belga Mag/Belga via AFP)
Updated January 17, 2026 12:51PM
Wout Van Aert has confounded expectations in his recovery from a fracture ankle, and now looks well on track for an inspired classics campaign.
The Belgian star crashed heavily in the Zilvermeercross in Mol on January 2 while putting pressure on Mathieu van der Poel. Diagnosed later that day with the fracture, he underwent a successful operation in Herentals on January 3 to stabilize the injury.
Sports doctor Tom Teulingkx, who worked with the Belgian in the past, predicted at the time that Van Aert would be sidelined for quite some time.
“In the most favorable scenario, Wout could be back on the bike within a few weeks, depending on the severity of the fracture,” he told Sporza.
However Van Aert has stunned with the speed of his return.
On Monday, just nine days after his surgery, he uploaded an outdoor ride to Strava entitled ‘Gewonnen maandag (‘Won Monday’). He averaged a solid 32.3km per hour for 33.39 kilometers.
He also did an indoor session, with photos from that revealing a lot of bruising to his foot as well as a badly swollen ankle. The images included a photo of the screw in his joint.
Since then Van Aert has hit the accelerator. On Tuesday he clocked up a spin of just over 59.21km near Benidorm in Spain. He did 108km Wednesday, then joined Visma-Lease a Bike teammates Matteo Jorgenson, Louis Barré, Timo Kielich and Bruno Armirail on Thursday for a 144.3km slog.
The group clocked up almost 3000 meters of elevation gain in that time, a real test of his ankle.
Friday was more difficult again; Van Aert completed a six hour spin, racking up 3,296 vertical meters over a distance of 184km.
As for Saturday, he backed off with a ride of just over 31km, but is likely to ramp things up again in the days ahead.
‘Seize every opportunity that comes my way’
Van Aert was wearing a joint-stabilizing boot when attending the Visma-Lease a Bike team presentation in La Nucia near Alicante, eastern Spain earlier this week. (Photo: Jose Jordan / AFP)
Van Aert’s rapid return has stunned many. Teulingkx will be amongst those, with his predictions shortly after the fracture very different to what has actually happened since.
“In the most favorable scenario, Wout could be back on the bike within a few weeks, depending on the severity of the fracture,” he said back then.
He’s far, far ahead of that timeline, making what Teulingkx said next in the interview even more interesting.
“Nature has to take its course, but I think his spring road season is probably not at risk,” he stated. “If I look at the images, it could still turn out better than expected.”
That’s indeed what has happened, keeping Van Aert in the frame for a serious push for career-first wins in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
“In the spring, I want to be there from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad all the way through to Roubaix,” he said this week.
“I want to show myself everywhere and seize every opportunity that comes my way.”
Given what he has been able thus far, Van Aert remains on track for a big, big spring campaign.