"Smooth ride": Van Aert logs 184km training ride just two weeks after fracturing his ankle

Wout van Aert is recovering from his ankle fracture at a remarkable speed. Just weeks after a season-ending crash at the cyclocross in Mol, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader is already back to logging massive distances at the team training camp in Spain.

The Belgian star's winter campaign came to a sudden halt in late December. During a duel with Mathieu van der Poel in Mol, Van Aert crashed heavily on the frozen course. The diagnosis was a fractured ankle, which required surgery to insert a screw.

Until very recently, Van Aert was seen wearing a large protective boot at the team's media presentation. The swelling was significant, and his cyclocross season was obviously over. However, his return to the bike has been much faster than anticipated.

On Monday, Van Aert completed his first ride since the surgery, a modest 33-kilometer spin that he described on social media as a "victory in itself."

Since then, the progression has been absolutely exponential. After traveling to the team's training camp in Spain on Tuesday, he rode just under 60 kilometers. On Wednesday, he broke the 100-kilometer barrier. On Thursday, he extended that to 144 kilometers.

By Friday, Van Aert was back to serious endurance work. According to his Strava data, he completed a 184-kilometer ride, which he titled as "smooth ride", spending approximately six hours in the saddle.

Van Aert is not riding alone. During Friday's long session, he was accompanied by a strong group of teammates, including Matteo Jorgenson, Christophe Laporte, Edoardo Affini, Timo Kielich, Loe van Belle, and Niklas Behrens. Team manager Grischa Niermann didn not want to miss the party and also joined the ride.

Van Aert's season is expected to start at the end of February, debuting at Omloop Nieuwsblad. He plans to ride the first three momunents - Milano-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix - and the Tour-Vuelta double.