From surgery to 183km: Van Aert’s Spain training images point to fast-track return for spring classics

Reassurance has now turned into something far more tangible. The latest images shared by Wout van Aert on Instagram from Visma’s training camp in Spain show a rider already deep into proper workload again, not cautiously testing an ankle but training as if spring objectives remain fully intact.

The pictures tell their own story. Long hours in the saddle, a 183-kilometre ride with close to 4,000 metres of elevation, gym work, relaxed moments with team-mates and even fast descending where speeds approach 80 km/h. This is not the profile of a rider nursing a problem. It is the profile of a rider rebuilding rhythm and confidence at pace.

Van Aert’s winter was abruptly derailed by his crash in the snowy Zilvermeercross at Mol, where he fractured his ankle and was forced to shut down his cyclocross season early. Surgery followed, and with it understandable concern over how much that interruption might ripple into his road build-up.

Inside Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the message at the time was calm. The injury was serious enough to demand respect, but the recovery was progressing smoothly. What the Spain images now provide is confirmation that this confidence was grounded in reality.

Crucially, Van Aert’s return to volume has come without drama. Swelling has been acknowledged as part of the process, but the ankle has not prevented him from training normally once clipped in. The emphasis has shifted quickly from recovery to preparation.

This update is not about words. Van Aert’s public comments on the injury were already known from media day. What is new here is proof.

Training images matter at this stage of the season because they reveal how close a rider is to normality. Easy spins can be staged. A 183-kilometre endurance ride, repeated climbing and high-speed descending cannot. Those details suggest the ankle is no longer dictating daily limits.

For Visma, that is significant. Van Aert’s spring ambitions depend on continuity rather than peak form in January. Missing a cyclocross finale hurts, but losing weeks of structured winter work would have been far more damaging. The Spain block suggests that scenario has been avoided.

Nothing has been officially changed in Van Aert’s programme. The intention remains to open his road season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, with the wider spring classics block still the clear focal point of his campaign.

At this stage, there is no need to rush conclusions. But the trajectory is encouraging. Following surgery and a brief recovery phase, Van Aert appears to have moved beyond uncertainty and back into familiar territory.

For a rider who has endured repeated disruptions in recent seasons, that may be the most important signal of all.