“In the Giro it was a lot worse” – Wout van Aert set to be ready for Tour de France despite illness

Just as he did before the Giro d’Italia in May, Wout van Aert has fallen ill in the final days before a Grand Tour. The Belgian star was absent from the national championships over the weekend due to a stomach flu, with concerns briefly surfacing over his availability for the Tour de France, which begins this Saturday.

Van Aert’s team, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, confirmed the setback came unexpectedly. “It also came as a bolt from the blue for us,” said team manager Maarten Wynants to VTM. “The training camp went well and there were no indications. I saw him this morning and he didn’t look well. We are not taking any risks towards the Tour, which will be here very soon. Or the Tour de France in jeopardy? Today was certainly not good enough to start. But stomach flu comes unexpectedly and hopefully will pass quickly.”

The timing mirrors Van Aert’s misfortune earlier this year, when he fell ill directly before the start of the Giro. But there is more optimism this time that the setback is short-term.

His close friend Daan Soete was quick to shut down any suggestion the illness was a convenient excuse to skip the Belgian Championships. “I was still in touch with Wout on Saturday and he was up for the BK. He felt good, so the news was a surprise to us too. I heard that he has stomach flu and that his entire family had it too.”

Soete added that Van Aert had been looking forward to racing. “The course suited him and such a final race is always good towards the Tour. Wout also wanted to become champion and always has ambition for this. It’s not like he knew it beforehand.”

He also pushed back against the idea that Van Aert’s recurring issues before major races are cause for concern. “Your search for top form is a fine line. The better you get, the sharper you are, and if you come into contact with people, you can get sick more quickly.”

“In the Giro it was a lot worse and Wout came out of it well,” Soete said. “So he can handle something. Nobody has to fear the start of the Tour. If it is resolved within two days, then you lose very little. Sometimes extra rest can’t hurt. That’s how it is now, then you just have to use this to get some extra rest. It will probably be fine.”