OFFICIAL: Wout Van Aert returns to race at the Tour of Denmark, eyeing La Vuelta and World Championships
Cycling
It is no longer a rumour and no longer something in doubt: Wout Van Aert returns to racing this Wednesday at the Tour of Denmark. The Belgian rider will be leading Team Visma | Lease a Bike as he returns to racing ahead of his last big goals of the season.
Van Aert rode the spring classics this year where he managed to finally win a cobbled monument for the first time in his career, beating Tadej Pogacar in an exciting finale to Paris-Roubaix. He had built up his form towards the Tour de France this summer but his preparation ahead of the Tour Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes was less than ideal and a crash saw him get an infection in an elbow wound.
He was forced to skip the Tour de France, lacking the form to be competitive. Jonas Vingegaard then also crashed out of the race, one marked by crashes and illnesses before and during the race - Sepp Kuss was also on his way to winning stage 20 when he fell on the descent to the Alpe d'Huez.
In Paris, the team once again tried to succeed using its stage hunters, but they were no match to Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar's attack on Montmartre. “Unfortunately, we were missing a victory in the final week, but I look back on our opening in Barcelona with great satisfaction”, Matteo Jorgenson said in a press release issued by the team.
“As a team, we showed resilience and tried to get the absolute maximum out of the past few days. The Tour de France is always tough, but for me this was by far the hardest edition I have ever ridden. Completely different from previous years. Today was difficult again as well. I’m really proud of the team.”
Wout Van Aert returns to racing at the Tour of Denmark
In 2025 Wout Van Aert flew up Montmarte; this year the team had to settle for a minor result
The team now has to look forward and whilst Vingegaard's return to racing is all but certain, Wout Van Aert will be filling in the shoes over the coming days. The Tour of Denmark takes place from the 29th of July all the way to August 2nd and will feature five stages that present opportunities for the sprinters and classics specialists of the team.
Van Aert will be amongst them, but by no chance a sole leader. With the Vuelta a España and the World Championships on his schedule, this will be a preparation race so as to gather rhythm, and together with Christophe Laporte the duo will be amongst those who have strong credentials to win the overall classification.
The team lineup is completed by Menno Huising, Niklas Behrens and Pietro Mattio of the elite team; joined by two under-23 riders in Ashlin Barry and Jonas Hoydahl.
Read also
Team Visma | Lease a Bike for Tour de Denmark 2026
| Riders |
| Wout van Aert |
| Christophe Laporte |
| Menno Huising |
| Niklas Behrens |
| Pietro Mattio |
| Ashlin Barry |
| Jonas Hoydahl |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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