Wout van Aert's wife reveals that medical error could've ended his career in 2019 Tour de France crash: "Wout might not have been able to cycle anymore"

In 2019, Wout van Aert was in his first year as a World Tour rider and had made his Tour de France debut, winning a stage and having a dream race. On the time-trial in stage 13 he crashed against the barriers and suffered a massive wound in a leg. His wife now reveals that in the hospital in Pau - the city that hosts the Tour's finale today - doctors failed to see one of the consequences of the injury, that could've cost his career.

"I was at the finish in Pau that day and I saw his fall in the time trial on a big TV screen. We drove to the finish as quickly as possible and the ambulance with Wout on board passed us, because Wout had seen me standing there," Sarah de Bie recalls in an interview with Sporza. "When we arrived at the hospital, I was not allowed to see Wout immediately. I understand that the doctors have to do their job, but when you hear your husband calling in the hallway, it is quite frustrating."

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider's wife tells how the hours after the fall went and how he felt about abandoning his maiden Grand Boucle: "When I did see Wout, he immediately started talking about the race. With his team they were going for a good classification in that Tour with Steven Kruijswijk. And Wout did not want to give up despite that fall, he said then."

"I never saw the wound myself and that's just as well, because I know how big the scar is. It's about 20 centimetres, also because the wound was opened again afterwards in the hospital in Herentals. And scars don't really heal well with Wout," she tells. She revealed then what was missed in the initial evaluation of the injury: "The tendon in Wout's upper leg had come loose, but they hadn't seen that in Pau. They had closed the wound and that was it."

Upon returning home to Belgium, the all-rounder needed to have surgery once again. "Wout had to stay in the hospital and I fainted there too. I couldn't go home either. There we were, a tête-à-tête in the hospital for 2 nights. If the team in Herentals hadn't been so alert, Wout might not have been able to cycle anymore. Of course we hadn't taken that into account in Pau. You think those surgeons know their job."

This has led to a fear of the medical services in France, which influence her travelling to the country when van Aert is racing there, as is the case currently. "Wout also tried to walk calmly in France. You could see that it was going really badly, but you don't ask yourself any questions. I don't understand why they didn't see that. But we've lost that naivety. No, you won't see me in a French hospital any time soon. I was heavily pregnant during last year's Tour, but Wout said I'd better stay home. We're on our guard."