"Wout van Aert cannot be replaced... We will miss him. Remco Evenepoel too" - Belgian national coach sees World and European Championship plans scuppered by Vuelta crash

Things seemed to be looking very strong for the Belgians heading into the upcoming European and World Championships. With one nasty crash at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana however, national coach Sven Vanthourenhout's plans have been thrown into disarray.

"I cursed really hard," admits Vanthourenhout in conversation with Sporza about the moment Wout van Aert crashed out of the Spanish Grand Tour having slid out into a concrete wall on a wet and pacey descent earlier this week. "You immediately saw the seriousness of the situation, but the human side also came to the fore. You know Wout's story and then you think: not again? He had to fight hard to get back to the highest level and he succeeded, which is not easy. But now there is another one of those problems."

After having won three stages at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana and been nearing a historic double win of both the Points Classification and the King of the Mountains classification, Van Aert was looking somewhere close to his best. Vanthourenhout has spoken to his compatriot and as expected, Van Aert has taken the blow hard both mentally and physically. "To say he is disappointed is an understatement," says the Belgian national coach. "Wout also has a limit. We have no doubt that things will turn out well again, because that is typical of him. But you shouldn't take that for granted."

"It is difficult to accept as a national coach, because Wout has enormous added value on and off the bike. He cannot be replaced," Vanthourenhout continues. "In Limburg, he had to share leadership with the sprinters. Zurich would be on the limit, but look at Wout in the Vuelta: he could have come into his own there. We will miss him. Remco Evenepoel too, because they had grown closer in recent years. We saw that at the Games too. They really found each other and that will probably continue to be the case in the long run, but it is a shame that we have to miss Wout."