🚴🇪🇸 | Wat gebeurt hier nou? Wout van Aert opende de aanval, maar ligt even later ineens op de grond. De schade lijkt op het eerste gezicht mee te vallen. 🇧🇪🚵 #LaVuelta24 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max
Visma | Lease a Bike shares medical update Van Aert after nasty fall in the Vuelta: leader spent night in hospital
CyclingWednesday, 04 September 2024 at 12:31
Wout van Aert is no longer part of the Vuelta a España. The Belgian was on the attack at the beginning of the 16th stage, fell with no severe injuries, returned, and jumped to the breakaway. There, he fell again in a descent. This fall was more severe and immediately ended his Vuelta a España, after which more became clear regarding his injuries during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Continue reading below the video
After only seven kilometers, Van Aert fell in the stage. Moments later, the green jersey could return via the cars and quickly rejoined the peloton—nevertheless, a nasty crash for the Belgian, who attacked to be in the breakaway. Van Aert also made a goal for the mountain jersey, in addition to securing the green jersey. In the end, despite his fall, the Belgian managed to be in the front.
Van Aert takes total points twice on climbs but falls again on slippery descent
On the first mountain of the day, Van Aert took all the mountain points, after which he went solo for twenty kilometers. After this, he was caught up, but he also scored ten points on the day's second climb. However, this was followed by another dramatic moment in Van Aert's year. In the slippery descent of the second climb, he crashed hard. Again, and now a lot more seriously.
He remained in the car's trunk for a long time after this, full of disbelief. There, he hardly moved for minutes and was surrounded by people from the team staff. His arm and knee were completely open. At this point, however, it was not clear whether the Belgian had also left the race.
It is yet another lousy luck moment in a disastrous year for Van Aert. He fell heavily in Dwars door Vlaanderen, had to rehabilitate for months, and was not at the super level on the Tour. Just in the Vuelta a España, he was on track to save the season with a string of stage wins, the green jersey, and maybe even the polka dot jersey. Until the deliberate descent. A moment to become silent about Van Aert's year again.
Visma | Lease a Bike shares Van Aert's diagnosis
At Visma | Lease a Bike, they were quiet about it afterward at HLN. "Wout first got on the bike to give it a try. Of course, we had seen the injury on his knee, but it was the instinct of a rider to get back on that bike. Over the radio, however, Wout quickly said he couldn't ride. So, after a few turns, we stopped again. The doctor rushed in to clean the wound, and Wout said it wouldn't work. The stage continued for me, but you don't want to see things like this. Massive disappointment because Wout was also just in a good schwung," said sports director Addy Engels.
Our mechanic has stayed with Wout, and our team doctor is on his way, but we don't know more. We know only that he fell on his knee. The fact that he got in the ambulance doesn't look good. This is just very unpleasant. Things are tough for us.
Visma | Lease a Bike came with the medical update during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. "Wout did not sustain any fractures from his fall. The triple-stage winner had to give up because of severe knee pain caused by a deep wound. That wound requires intensive care. Wout is traveling back to Belgium to recover further," it sounds.
"We are still going for a stage win, but without Wout, that will be difficult," Niermann said
On Wednesday morning, the day after the crash, Visma | Lease a Bike came to the cycling newsroom with a new update on Van Aert, again through Niermann. "The latest news is that Wout spent a night in hospital. Nothing was broken, but there was a deep wound on the knee. That has been taken care of."
"This has been of very great impact for us," Niermann continued. "But those three stage wins, of course, nobody will take away from him. His big goals were the green jersey and the polka dot jersey. Unfortunately, those are gone. For the guys still in the race, it is also a matter of resetting and seeing how things turn out. This Vuelta was all about Wout, who was really in good shape. It is challenging for the team, especially for him."
"Everyone was pretty down," the German team leader concluded. "After all, they still had to ride past him when he was in the team car. That was not a pretty sight. Unfortunately, this is also part of the sport. This, too, is cycling. We will move on, and the boys will compete, but it is a disappointment for the moment. We will try to get what we can out of it. With Sepp (Kuss, ed.), we still have a chance to ride in the top ten, for example. Also, the other guys are in good shape so that we will make the switch. We are still going for a stage win, but without Wout, that will be difficult."
It is not yet clear to what extent that wound will keep him away from the goals he had after the Vuelta: the European Championships in his own country (Sept. 15), the World Road Championships in Zurich (Sept. 29), and the World Gravel Championships in Leuven on Oct. 6.
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024