After months of sacrifice, preparation and optimism, Wout van Aert's 2024 racing calendar was thrown into chaos earlier this week by a disastrous crash at Dwars Door Vlaanderen that left the Belgian superstar with broken ribs and a broken collarbone.
According to Rudy Heylen, van Aert's formal mental coach, as bad as the physical issues are for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider, who now misses notable races such as the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race, it's the unseen scars in the psyche that may cause van Aert the most long-term damage from the crash.
"He did everything he could to get into race mode and suddenly they take those races away. In one fell swoop, the structure holding him up is wiped away," assesses Heylen in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "Wout will have to rebuild deeply and try to pull himself together. You can literally look at this as a mourning process. He has to break free from the 'trauma network' that has been created."
"If you do a pet scan of the brain, you can see the trauma network. If Wout does not get rid of that, there is a chance that a 'turbulent' peloton will trigger tension and stress in him. With this fall in his memory, Wout has created an emotional trail that can be triggered beyond his control. It could cause him to stiffen up in the sprint," continues Heylen. "There is a biochemical process going on in the brain that needs to be resolved. The motivation hormone has to take over from the stress hormone. Wout is going to have to work on this. There are many factors we don't have control over. But one thing is certain: just like the injury itself, Wout's head will also need aftercare."
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