Visma coach rules out Wout van Aert for World Cup and updates on his knee condition: "So far so good"

The days left to see Wout van Aert compete again can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It will be this coming Monday, December 23 at the Zilvermeercross in Mol, where he will face the other expected comeback in the discipline, Mathieu van der Poel. One of the Belgian's trusted men, Visma | Lease a Bike coach Mathieu Heijboer, spoke to HLN and commented on the keys to his pupil's comeback.

What remains to be seen for Van Aert at the moment is how his knee is doing: "So far so good, but it has taken a long time," Heijboer said. "That we waited so long to communicate Wout's cyclocross program has not been a game with the media. We didn't make the decision until early December that the knee was safe enough to do some races. At the beginning of November, it still wasn't very clear. As far as I was concerned, at the beginning of November it was still 50 percent."

"Wout continued to suffer during recovery and after every intense stimulus on the bike," the trainer continued. "In addition to a fracture in the knee, the skin and tissue around that knee was also badly damaged, which made an intense load on the tendon tissue impossible."

"Only when Wout traveled to Spain in the second week of November was he able to complete his first intensive training sessions." Now van Aert is able to complete all training sessions again. The doctors also see no reason for permanent damage.

In any case, Heijboer doesn't dare to guess how Van Aert will do against the fierce competition: "We have to be honest about it: there is a gap compared to last winter. He's not in such good shape now. Now his winter has been all about rehabilitation. It's a different mentality and a different load than last year. He can certainly compete now, but it's not enough to expect great performances right away. He'll do it as a function of continuing to build toward the road season."

Above all, the Belgian will leave the World Cup aside. This prestigious race also doesn't fit well into the calendar towards the road season. "Wout could and would only race the World Cup if he has a real chance of winning the title. What if he suddenly wins several races? Even in that case, Wout won't race the World Cup," Heijboer said.