Cycling
Wout van Aert missed the Tour de France – this is what he did instead
He is known as the super-domestique who can also win stages. An injury kept Wout van Aert from defending his success this summer, but he hasn't been standing still. What's next for the Belgian?
For the first time in eight years, Wout van Aert missed the Tour de France. Instead, the Belgian superstar has been recovering from complications following an elbow injury sustained in a training crash just before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, taking some time to rest and gradually working his way back to full fitness.
While the peloton has battled its way across France, the 2026 Paris-Roubaix champion has been quietly preparing for the next chapter of his season. So, what has one of the world's biggest riders been doing while the Tour rolls on without him?
01
Why is Wout van Aert such an important rider?
“Wout is one of the most important riders in our team and we would obviously have loved to have him at the start of the Tour… It is unfortunate that he will not be there, but we are convinced this is the right decision for his recovery and the rest of his season," said Team Visma | Lease A Bike’s race coach, Marc Reef, in a press release announcing van Aert's withdrawal from the Tour de France roster.
Wout van Aert had been in top form in the lead up to this year's Tour
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
A rider like van Aert, whose versatility and strength make him a potential winner on almost any terrain, would be a real asset for any team. His track record at the Tour – with stage wins ranging from individual time trials, to bunch sprints, to solo breakaways, and even high mountain days - is almost unmatched by any other rider. With such an all-rounder on their roster, sending van Aert to the Tour de France almost guarantees the team at least a stage victory.
The Dutch team substituted van Aert with Italian breakout star Davide Piganzoli to provide additional mountain support for their GC bid, but it’s fair to say losing such an all-rounder – who can assist on the flat stages, in rolling terrain, and even into the mountains - was a big blow. Mathieu Heijboer, Head of Performance at Visma-Lease a Bike, told Sporza: “You can't call that eighth rider a replacement for Wout, because Wout is unique and you can't replace him one-to-one."
02
Why Wout van Aert missed the Tour de France
Van Aert’s absence from the Tour de France was not caused by the crash in training before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes alone. In fact, the Belgian initially appeared on track to continue racing - even winning stage six of the traditional Tour de France lead-up race. He took the victory in the bunch sprint into Villars-les-Dombes - the dressing on his elbow wound visible as he raised his arms to celebrate his win - before abandoning the race the following morning.
Wout van Aert celebrates his Paris-Roubaix victory in April
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Full recovery is the priority and van Aert’s health comes first
A press release from Team Visma | Lease A Bike read: “During the race, an infection unexpectedly developed in the wound on his elbow, forcing him to abandon the race… It has been decided that full recovery is the priority and van Aert’s health comes first."
Van Aert’s Strava reveals that following his stage win on June 10, he didn’t ride his bike again until June 21. A 10-day break from training is a major stumbling block to a rider’s season at any time, let alone less than three weeks before the start of the biggest race of the season.
During this time, Heijboer revealed that van Aert's elbow infection worsened significantly, and could have potentially led to sepsis. After an initial course of antibiotics, Heijboer told Sporza: “Instead of the inflammation getting better, it only got worse… Wout had a fever and could no longer move that elbow."
Medical intervention followed. “The wound was surgically cleaned during a check-up… That intervention was truly necessary. Otherwise, sepsis would have been a possible consequence. The situation was therefore particularly serious. Wout has left the hospital, but he still has to go back daily to have the wound checked. But he is doing much better now.”
03
The road to recovery – van Aert's high-altitude training camp
For the first time in eight years, the 2026 Paris-Roubaix champion is not riding his way around France. Is he sitting at home licking his wounds, watching the race unfold without him? Not quite…
First attempt to hold my bars again
Following this break, he returned to training with a steady two hour ride around his home in Herentals, Belgium. It’s not clear if he continued to train on the home trainer during this break, but the description of the ride by van Aert himself reads: “First attempt to hold my bars again." One can only imagine the relief in finally being able to ride a bike outside once more.
Since uploading his first ride to Strava nearly one month ago, van Aert has been progressively increasing his training volume back to pre-injury levels. First, a 19-hour week, then 23 hours, then 26, and last week a mammoth week of nearly 28 hours - comprising 750km ridden with over 16,000m elevation.
04
What Strava tells us about van Aert's recovery
Since July 2, van Aert’s Strava uploads show that he's been in Italy living and training at high altitude. Starting his training camp at around 1,200m above sea level in Urtijëi before relocating even higher to Livigno - starting and finishing his rides at over 2,000m above sea level. It’s not just road riding, either, multiple videos have surfaced on social media of him tackling some rugged mountain gravel tracks to keep his training varied and fun while logging the hours.
High altitude training camps are commonplace for riders in the build-up to big races to fine-tune their form and make their final fitness gains. A three-week block stacking up heavy training weeks back-to-back shows that van Aert is fully recovered and locking in for the final phase of the season.
05
What’s next for van Aert?
Van Aert has announced that he will make his competition comeback at the Tour of Denmark – which he won on his debut outing in 2018 – at the end of July. He'll follow up with the three-week Vuelta a España beginning August 22, and the UCI Road World Championships in Canada in September.
Before his injury setback, the Belgian had already identified the Spanish Grand Tour as a key part of his race plan, using the Vuelta as preparation for a peak performance at the World Championships.
Van Aert is aiming to return to winning ways soon
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
I still have unfinished business in the Vuelta
“I still have unfinished business in the Vuelta… The World Championships in Canada have been on my mind for a long time. I see the Vuelta as an ideal preparation to be at my best level there,” van Aert said in a January statement shared by Team Visma | Lease A Bike.
It’s rare for a rider to get through a whole season of bike racing without any obstacles to overcome. For van Aert, it’s unfortunate that the injury sustained in June left him out of action during the biggest race of the year, but it’s clear that he’s on the road to recovery and is fully focused to end the year on a high.
Whatever happens, 2026 will always be the year he achieved his lifelong goal in memorable fashion at Paris-Roubaix.
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