Wout van Aert rides 111km on Zwift as recovery continues from fractures

Visma-Lease a Bike rider was ruled out of the Giro d'Italia last week to recover from fractures, but starts clocking up virtual kilometres in the saddle

16:02, Tuesday 16th April 2024

George Poole

Junior Writer

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Wout van Aert crashed out of Dwars door Vlaanderen at the end of March

Still recovering from the fractures which have ruled him out of the Giro d'Italia in May, Wout van Aert has been spotted clocking up his first kilometres since crashing out of Dwars door Vlaanderen in late March.

That crash saw the Visma-Lease a Bike rider suffer fractured ribs, sternum and collarbone, with Van Aert making his first public statement last week, when he announced his withdrawal from his team's Giro d'Italia lineup.

Last Thursday, the Belgian said that he had been unable to begin training again and indeed, Van Aert had only been able to shower for the first time a little over a week ago - some 12 days after his high-speed crash. But it appears his recovery has taken an upturn over the past few days, with the Belgian clocking up almost three and a half hours in the saddle on indoor riding platform, Zwift.

The 29-year-old's last public Zwift ride was posted on February 22 and his last Strava activity was a short walk taken after Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, but one look at Van Aert's Zwift profile uncovers a return to the bike for Van Aert.

Whilst his individual rides may remain private, his public stats over the last seven days indicate that Van Aert has ridden 111km in three hours and 28 minutes, tackling 1,225m of elevation gain along the way and burning off eight slices of pizza - according to Zwift at least.

Over the last 30 days, Van Aert has ridden 142km on Zwift in total, and given Van Aert's statement on Thursday that he had yet been unable to return to training, there is a chance that those extra 31km were ridden prior to Dwars door Vlaanderen on March 27.

Van Aert's Zwift stats are available for public viewing, allowing us to see his figures from the last 30 (left) and seven (right) days

Van Aert poked fun at himself on Sunday, entitling his Strava walk 'Amstel bronze reflection.' The Belgian has, of course, been unable to ride in any Classics since his high-speed crash, and on Sunday he will have watched Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) gain revenge for his second place to Van Aert three seasons ago.

The Belgian's main goals for the spring were the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, two races he was forced to miss, whilst his biggest goal of the season had been chasing stage wins at the Giro d'Italia. With a broken collarbone, sternum and multiple fractured ribs, however, all of these dreams were dashed in the blink of an eye.

"At this point I cannot train at all. I’m trying to do my first pedal strokes on the bike, but not enough to be able to train. That is why we made the decision to not start in the Giro d’Italia,” Van Aert said in a video released last Thursday.

What will form his goals for the rest of 2024 remains to be seen, with his focus naturally centred on his recovery first and foremost. However, the Olympic Games has long been in Van Aert's eyeline and could have a bearing on his interest in riding the Tour de France this summer.

With team leader Jonas Vingegaard only leaving the hospital earlier today, after his own ill-fated crash at Itzulia Basque Country, Visma-Lease a Bike would certainly love Van Aert to ride the Tour, but these decisions are yet to be made.

For the time being, supporters of the Belgian and his team will just be delighted to see Van Aert back in the saddle and able to ride his bike once again. They will hope that these virtual kilometres can soon turn into rides on the open road as his comeback continues to gather pace.

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