"This is not good news for the Tour de France" - Visma | Lease a Bike concerned as Wout van Aert abandons Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

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.

"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."

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."

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 tries to dethrone Tadej Pogacar and win his third Tour de France.