Wout van Aert Went Gravel Crazy After Tour de France Infection Shock

Wout van Aert was devastated that he couldn’t race the Tour de France. So he’s been finding other ways to have fun instead.

The beloved Belgian logged a slightly insane mountain gravel ride on Wednesday while his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates were racing the fastest Tour de France stage in history.

Van Aert took a detour off-road during his training camp in the Italian Alps to grind his way around a 104km circuit of high-mountain gravel paths.

With a total of 3,400 meters of climbing, the loop took the long-time cyclocrosser and Paris-Roubaix champion along a stoney goatpath side route toward the summit of the hulking Stelvio Pass.

He descended on the Swiss side of the border via the Umbrailpass.

And it looked like he was loving every moment.

Footage loaded to Strava by accompanying rider Aaron van der Beken shows Van Aert groveling up a steep rock-strewn stretch of singletrack with a broad smile. Or is it a grimace? Maybe it’s both.

Van Aert has been a big missing piece from this Tour de France.

The 31-year-old was forced out of the Visma-Lease a Bike selection after he developed a serious infection in a wound in his elbow. 

He’s been training on the tarmac of the Italian Alps since the start of the month in preparation for a return to racing at the Vuelta a España, which starts August 22.

The Montréal road worlds are next on his docket.

And who knows? Given how well he was grinding around the Alps, maybe he’ll add the October gravel world championships to the agenda, too.