Everything was going brilliantly for Wout van Aert at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana before his stage 16 crash. After winning three stages and leading both the Points Classification and the King of the Mountains everything came to a screeching halt in a nasty crash on a wet and slippery descent on stage 16 of his Vuelta debut.
After having bounced back up from a first crash earlier in the day, to get himself into the breakaway on stage 16, Van Aert took maximum points at each of the first two categorised climbs. On a wet and slippery descent however, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike star crashed hard and went flying into a gutter alongside Felix Engelhardt and Isaac del Toro. Although he attempted to carry on, a few kilometres later, Van Aert was leaving the race in the back of an ambulance, not only ending his Vuelta, but ending his season as a whole.
"He suffered a serious knee injury that will require intensive care," Team Visma | Lease a Bike wrote in a press release a few days later. Although the Belgian has recently got back on his bike for the first time since that crash in Spain, Van Aert has been left with a lasting reminder of the injuries sustained, as shown off in a post on his official Instagram story.
Clearly working on his recovery in the gym, the 30-year-old's visibly scarred knee can be seen on show, acting as a rather brutal reminder of the dangers of professional cycling. With his 2024 season over, whether or not the Belgian superstar will take on any cyclocross this winter or rest up in preparation for the Spring Classics, remains to be seen.
See the image of Van Aert's scar on his knee for yourself, in the image down below!
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