Wout van Aert makes successful comeback in Norway: 'A lot of uncertainty gone now'

Ahead of the Tour of Norway, Wout van Aert spoke of his trepidation for the days ahead, with the Visma-Lease a Bike all-rounder still feeling regular discomfort from his crash in the spring that left him with a broken collarbone, sternum and seven fractured ribs. But after four stages in Scandinavia, the Belgian is in high spirits.

"There's a lot of uncertainty gone now. I have felt better every day. It was what I was hoping for. Trust has certainly grown," said Van Aert, per Het Laatste Nieuws.

"I'm happy with my performance, but there was more to it. It's nice that I can already say that. The most important thing is that I haven't had any pain."

Read more: Wout van Aert: My biggest mistake was underestimating my injuries

The four-day stage race went better than expected for Van Aert, who not only came through the Tour of Norway pain-free, but also produced a few handy performances that showed the 29-year-old to be at a competitive level. Although the race was not incident-free for Van Aert, who crashed on stage 2, he was still able to position his teammate Bart Lemmen well on Friday and tee up the Dutchman for a third-place finish on the day.

Strong teamwork was soon followed by a pair of results that went to demonstrate Van Aert's resilience. Less than two months on from his high-speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, which ruled him out of the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d'Italia, the Belgian sprinted to fourth and third place, respectively, in the final two stages.

After his fourth place on Saturday, Van Aert was keen to report his comfort in the hustle and bustle of the sprint.

"I haven't really been scared in the pack so that's also positive. It's good that you can throw yourself back in between as soon as possible," he said, with the 29-year-old going one better on Sunday's final stage and claiming third place behind Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) and stage winner Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility).

Whilst it was not to be a winning return for the Belgian, who blamed himself for his "own mistake" that left him boxed in through the final few hundred metres, Van Aert could be more than happy with how his first race back from injury had gone.

"Such a ride as today has given me confidence again," he said. "It was short and intense. I am satisfied with my performance. I said I didn't come up here looking for results. Of course I was planning to really throw myself in. It's nice that we've succeeded in the last two days.”

Tour de France for Van Aert? 'We can't say anything yet'

Visma-Lease a Bike had brought an extra osteopath to Scandinavia in an effort to make their recovering star as comfortable as possible, and they, like Van Aert, were keen to temper any excitement over what the Belgian's successful return could mean for his Tour de France participation.

Of their star riders, only Sepp Kuss has come through the first months of the season unscathed for Visma-Lease a Bike, with both Van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard suffering their own nasty injuries in the spring. Van Aert has been the first to return to racing, but he would not be drawn into comment on what might be next.

"It has been a positive week. We are going to use this to see what follows. But I'm not going to tell that in front of the camera here.”

Read more: Visma-Lease a Bike build towards Tour de France with Vingegaard and Van Aert in mind

The question of what might be next brought the same flat-bat response from Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Arthur van Dongen.

"Everything is still open. A high-altitude camp, another racing competition, everyone can fill in the scenarios themselves. We can't say anything because we don't know yet," he insisted. "Over the course of the week, we will do the evaluation.”

The Dutchman did, however, fall short of ruling the Tour de France out for Van Aert, with Van Dongen saying that the Belgian belongs at the biggest race of the season.

"I'm not saying that the Tour is not feasible, or that there is a line through the Tour. It's too early to say anything about that already. But it will soon become clear. If you ask me, Wout van Aert belongs at home in the Tour.”

The Tour de France begins in Florence, Italy, on Saturday 29 June, finishing in Nice on Sunday 21 July. Only six days seperates the end of the Tour from the men's individual time trial at the Paris Olympic Games, which remains the biggest goal of Van Aert's season in the absence of the Giro.

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