Tour de France begins in a little over two weeks (July 4 in Barcelona), and Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) has confirmed he will not participate this year, due to a persistent elbow injury sustained in a crash during training that has not healed correctly, one that already forced him to withdraw from Tour de Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Team Visma explains in a statement that the elbow injury unexpectedly got infected. His wound was cleaned in the hospital and he spent a night there under observation. After consultation between Van Aert, the medical staff, and the performance coaches, it has been decided that full recovery is the priority and Van Aert's health comes first, the team said.
"This is of course a big disappointment", said Van Aert. "The Tour de France is one of my main goals every year. Unfortunately, a crash during training has put a spanner in the works, and the injury to my elbow has worsened and has still not healed sufficiently. Together with the team, we have concluded that starting the Tour in top form is not feasible at this point. My full focus is now on my recovery so I can return to my best level later this season."
The 31-year-old Belgian cyclist has won 10 individual Tour de France stages between 2019 and 2025, including the points classification in 2022. One of the most important victories of his career came last April, when he beat the favourite Tadej Pogacar and won Paris-Roubaix, his second "monument" after Milan-San Remo in 2020, ending (or more accurately, momentarily pausing) his well-known bad luck: a series of crashes, punctures and now injuries have prevented him from winning many more races he would have deserved, which make Wout van Aert one of the most loved non-French cyclists in France.