Wout van Aert jokes about ‘annexing Flanders’ as training ramps up ahead of cyclocross comeback

After several weeks away from competition, Wout van Aert looks to be rediscovering his rhythm. The Visma | Lease a Bike star uploaded a 96.9 kilometre ride to Strava on Monday, captioned tongue-in-cheek: “Annexatie van de Vlaanders completed.”

The route traced a wide loop through the Belgian countryside between Eeklo, Sint-Laureins and Knokke, taking in stretches along the coast and the dykes of West Flanders. In total, Van Aert covered nearly 97 kilometres in a ride lasting just under three hours in total, with 227 metres of elevation gain — a clear sign that his training load is on the rise again.

Van Aert’s latest ride caps off a busy first week back in structured training. The 31-year-old enjoyed a longer-than-usual off-season, including a cultural break in Rome, before logging his first Strava ride last week — a 100-kilometre effort he jokingly described as “stiff”. Since then, he’s added multiple road sessions, runs through the Zwin nature reserve, and even an early spin on his cyclocross bike along the beaches of Knokke.

The Belgian powerhouse has already confirmed he’ll return to cyclocross this winter, though he’s ruled out an early start. His last race was on the 20th of September, and he’s repeatedly said he wants to build back gradually before his eventual return to racing in the mud. “I’ll take about a month off, then start training again at the beginning of November. We’ll see step by step,” Van Aert said earlier this autumn about his plans for the coming winter.

For now, fans can take his Strava feed as the best indicator yet: Wout van Aert is back in business — and his playful “annexation” of Flanders might just be the first step toward reclaiming dominance in the mud.