Wout van Aert forced to end season
Visma - Lease a Bike announced the Belgian will not race anymore in 2024
After crashing out of the Vuelta a España, Wout van Aert will have to end his season. In an announcement from his team, Visma – Lease a Bike, on Thursday, the outfit informed fans of the unfortunate news.
“Wout van Aert will not race any more this season. The rider from Visma | Lease a Bike needs time to recover from his crash in the Vuelta a España. He suffered a serious knee injury that will require intensive care,” A brief statement read. “Van Aert stays in the hospital in Belgium, where he will receive intravenous antibiotics to minimize the risk of infection. He will then take a break to make a full recovery before cautiously setting his sights on the next season.”
Wout van Aert will not race any more this season. He needs time to recover from his crash in the Vuelta a España.
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Get well soon, @WoutvanAert! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/phTo2eLKUg
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) September 5, 2024
On Tuesday, during his fourth breakaway of the 2024 Vuelta Ciclista a España, van Aert was extending his King of the Mountains lead when he crashed with two other riders. Despite continuing for a while, he ultimately had to abandon the race. Van Aert, who had previously achieved a hat trick of stage wins, had also suffered a two-month injury break earlier this year. The crash occurred on the stage finishing at Lagos de Covadonga, where his group was over six minutes ahead of the peloton. Following his accident, Jay Vine took over the mountains classification jersey, and Kaden Groves claimed the green jersey previously held by van Aert.
This is his second big crash of the year. Earlier in the spring, at the Dwars door Vlaanderen, he crashed hard which forced him to completely change his racing plans.