“Mountains are calling” - Wout van Aert rides 109km in major Strava recovery hint after Tour de France heartbreak
Cycling
Wout van Aert has delivered his clearest recovery signal yet since the infected elbow wound that ruled him out of the Tour de France, logging a 109.3km ride at 35.7kph on Strava.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider was on the bike for just over three hours on Wednesday morning, a major step up so soon after the injury that ended his July plans.
The accompanying message, “Recovery going well, mountains are calling,” gave the update an even sharper edge.
Van Aert is not riding the Tour and that decision is already final. But a three-hour training ride at that speed changes the tone around his recovery, especially after surgery was required to clean the wound and avoid sepsis.
109km ride sharpens recovery picture
Van Aert was ruled out of the Tour after an elbow wound from a training crash on his time trial bike worsened and became infected. The issue had already disrupted his final preparation race, where he had won a sprint stage before being withdrawn the following day as the problem escalated.
He was brought back to Belgium and underwent surgical cleaning on the wound, ending his run of Tour de France appearances at seven. This summer will now be the first since his 2019 debut without Van Aert on the startline.
That remains a major blow for Visma. Van Aert would have been central in the team time trial, on nervous flat days around Jonas Vingegaard, and as a stage-winning threat across several different types of terrain.
Tour gone, mountains still calling
The Tour damage cannot be undone. Visma must begin the race without one of their most versatile riders, while Van Aert misses the event that has shaped so much of his Grand Tour reputation.
The recovery picture, however, has changed quickly. A ride of 109.3km at 35.7kph does not make Van Aert race-ready, but it is a serious training marker from a rider whose summer looked in real doubt after the infection and surgery.
The World Championships in Canada remain the obvious major target later in the season if his recovery continues cleanly. Belgian experts had already pointed to that course as a serious opportunity once the Tour was gone, and Van Aert’s latest Strava activity keeps that route firmly open. For now, the numbers are the story: 109.3km, 35.7kph, and a rider ruled out of the Tour de France already hearing the mountains call again.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
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- This is just stupid, You do what you are good at not what you are weak at. He has no results to speak of when he participated. Even Froome, Conatdor had very little. With Pogi there he wont win none of the classics. he is already 30+ with a few years left at the top. It takes years to get good at classics. Is that really worth the effort???abstractengineer02-11-2026
- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
- You'll be the ongoing joke of 2027 with anything you post here!frieders302-11-2026
- Awwww your inside information must be from PogiFanGirl. You two daughters of different mothers?frieders302-11-2026
- Hey PogIFanGirl...wipe that cream from your lips! You're ever loving drooling and whatever you have for Tadej has your brain fried!frieders302-11-2026
- Why should he 'let it go' ! Because you said so? Anytime LA Doper is called out is a win win !frieders302-11-2026
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