With his iconic victory at Paris-Roubaix, Wout van Aert's season is already a resounding success. Following his triumph at the Vélodrome, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader has opted for a well-deserved break, spending recent days tackling a multi-day bikepacking trip with friends through the Netherlands and Belgium.
Swapping the WorldTour for a loaded gravel bike
Van Aert lives close to the Dutch border and frequently crosses into the Netherlands for his training rides. However, this week’s expedition is completely different from his usual structured training blocks.
While he is leaving the serious interval work behind, he certainly isn't sitting still. Alongside a group of friends, including former Visma teammate Nathan Van Hooydonck, Van Aert headed north on a gravel bike loaded with bikepacking bags.
Despite being on a "break," the group covered some serious distance during the first two days of their adventure, logging their rides on Strava.
The first day, starting in his hometown of Herentals, the group rode north through Schoten and Kalmthout, crossing the Dutch border at Huijbergen. They navigated through Bergen op Zoom before finishing near the coast in Schouwen-Duiveland. The opening leg took them just over six hours in the saddle.
The second day featured a scenic route south along the Zeeland coast. Passing the Oosterscheldekering (Neeltje Jans) and looping around Middelburg, they took the ferry from Vlissingen. Once back on dry land, they continued along the coastline, crossing the border back into Belgium to rest in the seaside town of Knokke. This shorter ride took about 4 hours and 40 minutes.
Wout Van Aert celebrating his 2026 Paris-Roubaix victory
A well-deserved "Jeans day"
Not every day on the trip requires a century ride. After logging over 300 kilometers in two days, the group opted for a highly relaxed rest day in Knokke-Heist to simply enjoy the vacation vibe.
Van Aert dubbed it a "Jeansbroek-dagje" (Jeans day), highlighting the complete absence of lycra. Naturally, a proper rest day on a cycling trip included enjoying some delicious pastries at the local bakery, which is a mandatory stop for any bikepacking adventure.
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Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
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