"Risk of fibers tearing again," but Van Aert stays optimistic — and leaves his wifey at home to go training

Van Aert sustained a serious knee injury during the Vuelta a España — a deep flesh wound from a crash on a descent. While the injury has healed enough for him to return to cycling, running has remained an issue for a long time. "Technically, cycling involves what we call a 'closed chain movement,' while running, which involves constant impact, is an 'open chain movement,'" Van der Mieren explained to Belgian news outlet HLN.

When running, the attachment fibers in the knee are subjected to different forces and need to strengthen accordingly. If you only go cycling, you develop a different composition in those fibers. "A cyclist can’t just go for an hour-long run after riding 200 kilometers without bearing the consequences. The next day, you’ll feel stiff and could end up with injuries in no time. Wout’s top-level trainers and physiotherapists are undoubtedly managing this well. Those fibers need to adapt and gradually grow stronger again. Depending on the nature of the injury, this process can take three to four months — or even up to a year," Van der Mieren added.

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Given how much running is required in cyclocross, the real question is whether it’s wise for Van Aert to even consider competing this winter. "Speeding up or forcing recovery is absolutely out of the question," Van der Mieren emphasized. "The big risk is that those newly formed fibers could tear again because they aren’t strong enough yet and become overloaded. This would cause a new injury and mean starting recovery from scratch. One advantage, though, is that running on softer surfaces like sand, mud or forest trails is less taxing than running on hard pavement. The softer the surface, the better," he says.

Van Aert is taking things one step at a time. On Thursday, December 28, he posted about a running session, mentioning how he was "nibbling away" at his running deficit. The progress was evident, though, as his wife Sarah humorously commented under his Strava post, "I’m not allowed to come along anymore," showing a mix of disappointment and playfulness.