"I would have loved to help sell the show" - Wout van Aert shares message after season-ending Mol crash

Wout van Aert is now out of action for an undetermined amount of time, but spirits are not fully down within Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The team has confirmed he's had a successful surgery, and during Sunday's Zonhoven World Cup race, he was on the screens with a message for the fans who made the trip to 'De Kuil', providing an upbeat update. 

The Belgian rider suffered a crash due to the icy conditions that plagued the Exact Cross Mol. It made for a memorable race on the men's side, firstly for positive reasons as Mathieu van der Poel was being challenged for the first time this winter; but later on for the worst reasons as Van Aert hit the deck and it quickly became apparent that it wasn't just a small fall. Whilst van der Poel has been able to avoid injury in all of his crashes and tumbles so far this winter, Van Aert put a foot down wrong during his crash and sprained it, leading to an ankle fracture. 

The recovery time is not yet known, but it is yet another obstacle in the Belgian's career and a big obstacle in the way of his spring goals. In Zonhoven, organizers managed to get video messages from previous World Cup leader Laurens Sweeck, and Van Aert, now both injured. Van Aert, with one of his children, was able to take the positives out of it as he had a birthday to celebrate. 

"Hello everyone, unfortunately I can't be at De Kuil today. I would have loved to help sell the show there and give this little rascal a birthday present. He's turning five today. To ease the pain, I would love it if you all sang happy birthday to Georges. Have fun and see you next year in the cyclocross," he said.