A small tribute to the Gravel World Championships? Van Aert takes beautiful ride on unpaved paths through the woods

A new step in Wout van Aert's recovery! Of course, we’d rather not have had to write this, but the Belgian all-rounder seems to be finding his way back. Last weekend, the Gravel World Championships took place in and around Leuven, Belgium, but Van Aert couldn’t participate due to his recovery from the Vuelta crash. On Wednesday afternoon, he took matters into his own hands, speeding over some rough terrain.

If you adjust your map type on Strava, you can see which sections were ridden on unpaved surfaces. Van Aert’s ride, for example, showed plenty of dotted lines on the route, and he even adjusted the ride type to gravel. Was it a small tribute from the man who would have liked to race in the World Championships last weekend? Perhaps, although the star from Visma | Lease a Bike probably just enjoyed the surroundings.

Read more below the photo.

Cyclo-cross, Monuments and what else? 2025 schedule considerations for Van Aert

The 2024 season was a challenging year for Van Aert, who crashed in both Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Vuelta. These two incidents crossed out major goals, such as the Monuments Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, as well as the World Championships in Switzerland. It's still uncertain what steps Van Aert will take to pursue these major races he has yet to win.

It’s quite possible we’ll see Van Aert back in cyclo-cross sooner. He previously mentioned that he’s certainly thinking about it. "But I haven’t made a specific plan yet. After my rest period, I’ll see how we approach winter." Those thoughts may soon lead to a plan for the cyclo-cross season for the man who has decided to spend his entire cycling career racing for Visma | Lease a Bike.

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