Wout van Aert has decided to skip this year’s UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda, and will end his season in September.
The Belgian, four times a silver medallist at the Worlds, said in a statement from his Visma-Lease a Bike team that he does not want to “overdo” his racing.
Instead, Van Aert will compete at four more races this year: the Deutschland Tour on 20-24 August, Bretagne Classic-Ouest de France on 31 August, GP de Québec on 12 September, GP de Montréal on 14 September, and finally the Flemish one-day Super 8 Classic on 20 September.
“It’s important to still set some important goals for the last part of the season, and with this calendar, we’ve certainly succeeded,” Van Aert said in a statement.
“At the same time, after such a packed season, it’s crucial not to overdo it. That’s why we’ve decided to end my season after the Super 8 Classic and skip both the World Championships and European Championships.”
So far this season, the Belgian has raced 56 days on the road, including two Grand Tours in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, at both of which he won a stage. He also rode four rounds of the cyclo-cross World Cup at the start of the year, placing second at the World Championships.
“It’s been a great year, with major goals coming in quick succession,” Van Aert said. “As in most years, the spring classics and the Tour de France were my main objectives. I’m also happy that I finally got to experience the Giro d’Italia. That variety – the same reason I rode the Vuelta a España for the first time last year – is something I need and find very motivating.”
This will be the second year in a row that Van Aert has missed the World Championships, after he withdrew from last year’s Vuelta with a “serious” knee injury, and was sidelined for the event in Switzerland.
In 2020, the Belgian placed second in both the road race and the individual time trial at the Worlds in Imola, Italy. He was second again in the time trial the following year in his native Belgium, and finished runner-up in the road race the last time he competed, in Glasgow in 2023.
This September’s race in Kigali will be held on one of the toughest routes in history, with 5,475m of elevation gain for the elite men over a 267.5km course. The time trial is 40.6km with 680m of climbing.
The UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda are scheduled for 21-28 September. The official start list is yet to be confirmed for the event, although it is expected Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar, the recent Tour de France winner, will defend his road race title.
