"That has a serious impact on your body" - Belgian national coach believes Wout van Aert still has a long way to return to his best

Sven Vanthourenhout is leaving the role of Belgian national team coach, although it is uncertain yet whether he will join a World Tour team or if he will follow a different path in cycling. However, the leader of the Belgians is well informed regarding Wout van Aert, but shares doubts that the Team Visma | Lease a Bike will be at his best level during the upcoming cyclocross racing stint.

The stint will, without a doubt, be one where it's clear that the priority lays on the road season. Van Aert will take on six races, two during the Christmas block and then four in January which end in Maasmechelen on the 25th. As far as it stands, there is no World Championships on the schedule and this is also a result of the long-standing issues that came from his crash at the Vuelta a España.

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On stage 16 van Aert was in the breakaway of the day when he was forced to abandon the race whilst leading both KOM and points classifications. He suffered a hard fall on the descent of the Collada Llomena in the rain and had a deep knee wound. He managed to get back to bike training now in the regular schedule, but has had more difficulties when it comes to running. Whilst it does not risk his road season, when it comes to cyclocross it is a big obstacle. Hence, expectations have to be limited when it comes to his results.

"Wout is doing well, I still hear from him regularly. He has been training well again for a while now, but he has fallen behind seriously," Vanthourenhout told Het Laatste Nieuws. "If you are at that level, as a top athlete, and you can't do anything for five to six weeks... that has a serious impact on your body. You can't just work that off in a few weeks".

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