"Wout van Aert has a lot of pain in his ankle” - Visma provide early update after snowy crash in Mol

The Exact Cross in Mol was shaping up to deliver the long-awaited winter duel between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, before the race was abruptly turned on its head by a heavy crash and Van Aert’s subsequent abandonment.

Van Aert did not speak to the media following the incident, but Jan Boven, team director at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, provided an initial medical update in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad.

According to Boven, Van Aert was unable to continue and was suffering significant pain in his ankle.

“He couldn’t finish the race and he has a lot of pain in his ankle,” Boven said to Het Nieuwsblad. “That needs to be investigated further before we can really draw conclusions.”

While Van Aert emerged from the crash with visible scrapes to his knee, Boven confirmed the ankle was the primary concern. “He has small abrasions on the knee, but that’s it. The ankle is the most painful. It’s very swollen, so now we need to see what can already be examined.”

The timing is far from ideal, with the next World Cup appointment looming quickly. “Zonhoven is already in two days, that’s very soon. But at this moment we really can’t give a 100 percent answer yet,” Boven added.

The disappointment is compounded by how strong Van Aert looked before the crash. In Mol’s brutal winter conditions, he had repeatedly clawed his way back to Van der Poel’s wheel, keeping the race alive deep into the contest.

“In Loenhout the duel with Van der Poel was also close, but there he had two punctures,” Boven explained. “Today he really looked at ease. It was nice to see that he could come back into the race and provide a duel for two and a half laps.”

Boven also dismissed any suggestion that Van der Poel’s earlier slip directly caused the crash. “That wasn’t the cause, but Wout was startled and felt he made a small mistake himself. It was really a reaction. Felipe Orts had already crashed there a lap earlier, it was a very slippery corner.”

For now, Visma’s focus is on assessment rather than conclusions. “We have to wait for further examinations,” Boven said. “He realises it’s obviously not ideal, but mentally he’s okay.”