After being pulled out of the Tour de France and undergoing surgery due to an elbow injury, Wout van Aert has finally got back on the bike, taking part in a charity group ride near his home in Herentals.
With a large bandage on his right elbow, Van Aert rode 67.6km at an average speed of 30.6kph on Sunday at the Olivia Classic, an event put on by the Olivia Fund – a Belgian organisation committed to funding and supporting research into childhood cancer.
Commenting on his Strava ride that it was the "First attempt to hold my bars again," this was Van Aert's first outing since he pulled out of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on June 12, after which came the announcement that he would not be riding his eighth consecutive Tour de France.
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It was a big blow to Jonas Vingegaard's support for the race, where he is set to take on Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) again in the fight for the yellow jersey, with Van Aert's versatility making him a vital cog in Visma's well-oiled machine.w
Van Aert sustained the elbow injury in a training crash prior to that race, where he won the sprint on stage 5 but struggled in the early days, and it threatened to get much more serious when his wound got infected.
Pulled out of the race, Van Aert started taking antibiotics, but it only worsened with bacteria getting into his wound. He was forced to have his wound surgically cleaned and spend a night in the hospital, and is now receiving intravenous antibiotics and has recovered enough to participate in the group ride.
"On Monday, the wound was surgically cleaned during a check-up," said Visma's head of performance, Mathieu Heijboer, to Sporza last week.
"That intervention was truly necessary. Otherwise, sepsis would have been a possible consequence. The situation was therefore particularly serious."
Now back on track, it is unknown where Van Aert will next race, but the Vuelta a España remains on his schedule. That race kicks off in Monaco on August 22, so expect a racing return for the Belgian star in the build-up to that race.
Visma will announce Van Aert's replacement for the Tour on Tuesday, with a big hole to fill in the 10-time stage winner, former green jersey champion, and yellow jersey wearer's absence.
Among the frontrunners were the likes of Ben Tulett and Wilco Kelderman, but other options to bolster Vingegaard's support squad could come from his Giro d'Italia-winning squad, with Davide Piganzoli rumoured to be in line for the final spot.
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