Wout van Aert returns to competition for Visma-Lease a Bike on Thursday at the Tour of Norway. It has been eight weeks since his crash Dwars door Vlaanderen, in which he broke his collarbone, sternum and seven ribs . The Belgian was eager to test his physical recovery and mental strength at the four-day UCI ProSeries stage race, May 23-26, having missed his favourite Spring Classics as well as his Giro d’Italia debut .
“I’m feeling healthy, the spirit is good. I’m happy to be here and happy to pin on the number tomorrow again," Van Aert said in a press conference on Wednesday. “It’s been a long rehab.
It took quite a while until I could properly train again. But luckily, the last few weeks, I was able to do so without too much pain. So, me and the team decided to to try and race as soon as possible, to get back the good feeling of doing a race and being in the group.
“It will be a hard race for my current shape, but it will be, hopefully, good mentally to be here. Even if he isn't in top form, Van Aert still has ambitions for the Tour of Norway. "I would of course like to win four stages here and take everything from then on.
But unfortunately that is not realistic," he said. "Hopefully I can return home with confidence and then compete again in the biggest races - where I think I belong - for a win in the summer." Get The Leadout Newsletter The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Contact me with new.
