Two surgeries and antibiotics - Wout Van Aert's absence from the Tour de France further explained by medical complications

The 2026 Tour de France will not have Wout Van Aert at the start in Barcelona, a big hit for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Last year's winner at the Champs-Élysées suffered a training crash ahead of the Tour Auvernge-Rhône-Alpes, which then led to his withdrawal from the race. It was now shared that he underwent two surgeries after returning home to Herentals, Belgium.

"Before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, there was no reason to worry. But during the race, the wound wasn't healing properly, and Wout contracted a bacterial infection," his coach Mathieu Heijboer shared following stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse in words to Het Laatste Nieuws. "His condition deteriorated rapidly. This is why we decided to undertake a targeted medical approach":

Whatt looked like a minor injury at the start of the race, which was not affecting his performance on the bike, continued worsening after he departer the race. Quickly it was learnt that he would not join the team at its altitude camp, and that a Tour de France presence would actually be at risk.

Later this was confirmed. Van Aert had to undergo two separate surgeries to clean the wound; much like in 2024 where his crash at the Vuelta a España crash required surgery to clean the wounds he had gotten. In need of going through antibiotics, with time also required to recover from the surgeries, it was simply not viable for the Belgian to be at the Grand Depart in the space of two weeks in any reasonable form.

"Credit must go to the quick reflexes of the medical staff and Dr. Steven Claes, and fortunately the worst was avoided. Wout is currently undergoing antibiotic therapy, which prevents him from training. This therapy will last at least another week."

The Belgian's schedule is unlikely to change beyond the Tour, with the Vuelta a España and World Championships as the obvious goals for the latter part of his season, but the injury comes in the way of his personal ambitions and the team's plan to dethrone Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France. His spot should be filled by either Ben Tulett or Jorgen Nordhagen after their displays in Auvergne.

It was a decision that was only taken when no other solution was possible for the Dutch team. "You can always postpone, but at some point you have to make a decision," Grischa Niermann added. "Neither Wout nor the team wanted to risk rushing things so close to the Tour. It's obviously a huge disappointment, because the Tour de France is one of our main objectives every year."