"More than before, my right leg is now my weakest" - Is Wout van Aert suffering from long-term effects of crash-savaged 2024?

Wout van Aert has made a slow start to the 2025 road season, not yet hitting the heights that has come to be expected of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike superstar. After his crash-savaged season in 2024 though, just staying upright could be seen as Van Aert's biggest positive of the campaign so far.

After the now-30-year-old saw his Spring ended prematurely last year by a nasty crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, Van Aert fought his way back to full fitness and really began to find his best form at the Vuelta a Espana. Sadly though, after taking three stage wins and building a considerable lead in the points classification, disaster struck again on stage 16, ending his Grand Tour and he season as a whole.

Whilst he's keen to not use these crashes as an excuse for his quiet start to 2024, Van Aert admits there have been some long-term effects beginning to emerge in recent times. "I hardly experience any discomfort from it anymore, but unfortunately it is an extra point of attention that we have to deal with every day," the Belgian explains to Het Nieuwsblad, detailing knee problems felt since his Vuelta crash in September. "More than before, my right leg is now my weakest leg. Let's just say that I certainly didn't get better from that crash. But in the spring it can no longer be an excuse."

And although finishes of 11th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and 75th at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne were far below what a Van Aert at his best would come to expect, the Belgian is still largely optimistic about the remainder of his Spring following Opening Weekend. "It was really good to be back on the road racing," he concludes. "I also needed to throw myself back into it and enjoy it."