"This is not good news for the Tour de France" - Visma | Lease a Bike concerned as Wout van Aert abandons Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Cycling
Visma | Lease a Bike have endured a rollercoaster 24 hours that has saw the highs of a Wout van Aert stage win at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, before concerns emerged around the Belgian star as he abandoned the race on Friday morning.
Van Aert sprinted to an emphatic win on stage 5 as he was the strongest in the bunch sprint, taking a commanding win to seemingly turn the tables on what had been a lacklustre opening stages. Van Aert himself opened up on the reasoning - injuries from a crash suffered in training last Monday before the race.
But those injuries once again resurfaced during racing, leading to van Aert suffering increased pain in his elbow as he and the team made the decision not to start, sending the 31-year-old to Belgium for further examinations.
"Wout is traveling back to Belgium for further medical examination. We wish him a speedy recovery," the official statement said. However, team manager Maarten Wynants provided further details on how the new concerns emerged.
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"Bizarre" injury worsens for Wout van Aert
"We went from low to high and now from high to low again," the team manager told Het Laatste Nieuws.
"Wout was naturally pleased with the stage win, but also disappointed. This is just the next thing that comes his way. With Wout, there is always something. But he will be able to process this as well."
"Yesterday during the ride, he started having trouble again, especially on the descent. Afterwards, it got even worse. That is quite bizarre. Perhaps there is something in his body he is fighting against."
"Not good news" for Visma's Tour de France plans
Van Aert is scheduled to undergo an ultrasound at a Belgian hospital to pinpoint any further injuries, but Wynants admitted that the setback is certainly not ideal for Visma with the Tour de France just over three weeks away.
"But that this is not good news for the Tour de France? That is true. The most important thing is that Wout can recover now. The schedule will be made depending on how quickly he is back on the bike."
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Van Aert is pinned to be a crucial part of the Dutch outfit's Tour this summer. Alongside riders like Matteo Jorgenson and Bruno Armirail, the Paris Roubaix winner will be a key man for Jonas Vingegaard as the Dane attempts to dethrone Tadej Pogacar and win his third Tour de France.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- 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
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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