"Immunity booster" - Wout Van Aert and Visma | Lease a Bike ramp up Tour de France training with gruelling gravel ride

Wout Van Aert and his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates took on a gruelling day of gravel riding in Spain on Sunday as they ramped up Tour de France preparations. The Dutch team have been based in Sierra Nevada as Van Aert and other teammates such as Matteo Jorgenson, Bruno Amirail.

Van Aert hasn't on the road since his career-defining Paris Roubaix victory in April, but is targeting a return at the Tour Auvergne - Rhone Alpes (formerly the Criterium de Dauphine) next month before arriving at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Barcelona on July 4th.

And preparations are in full swing, with Van Aert and teammates coming down from their high-altitude training base to take on some brutal gravel riding in a day that featured over 181 kilometers and 4,000 meters of elevation gain - no easy day of recovery from the high peaks in Sierra Nevada.

"That kind of training day," Van Aert wrote on a social media story before the Strava activity confirmed the huge training ride. The Belgian added some context in what he believes will help his body for hard race days later this season: "That was a proper immunity booster".

June 7th is likely on the mind of Van Aert. He and Armirail are reported to be part of the Dutch team's line-up at the WorldTour race, traditionally used as preparation for the Tour. And he'll likely be a key domestique for Jonas Vingegaard in July, while also targeting stage win opportunities that fit his versatile capabilities.

Van Aert has competed competitively since his Paris-Roubaix triumph, the 31-year-old won the Marly Gravel Race in the UCI Gravel World Series on May 10th - taking a dominant solo win over fellow stars such as Florian Vermeesch and Pascal Eenkhoorn.