Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert return to training outside after injuries

Two of Belgium's great stars are back training on the road again, weeks after their respective crashes that left their early seasons blighted. Wout van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike returned to outdoor training last week, whilst Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step made his return on Thursday.

For Van Aert, his disastrous crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen left his season's ambitions in tatters, with the Belgian suffering a series of fractures (ribs and collarbone included) that ruled him out of the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d'Italia.

The 29-year-old could not shower for 12 days after the incident and when he returned to training outside last week, he had to make do with a modified mountain bike supplied by the team's bike manufacturer Cervélo, in a bid to ease the stress on his healing bones. Earlier this week, Van Aert's relief was clear as he entitled his latest Strava activity 'Almost professional again.'

Clocking in a 93.18km ride to the north of his home in Herentals, Belgium, Van Aert returned to a drop-handlebar bike and completed his ride aboard a Cervélo Áspero-5 gravel bike. It was the Belgian's longest ride since the Dwars door Vlaanderen crash. Van Aert's racing calendar is yet to be revealed, but his ambitions for the Olympic Games are well known.

Earlier this week, Van Aert expressed his delight at returning to training on the road.

"It's been almost four weeks and I'm happy to be back riding outside.

"If you want to have a tasty ice cream, you need to turn right here," he said in a video showing Van Aert riding a road bike under the Belgian sun.

As for Evenepoel, the Belgian national champion posted his first ride on Strava on Thursday, a little over three weeks since he crashed out of Itzulia Basque Country and fractured a scapula and his collarbone in the process.

Read more: Injury update: Jay Vine walking, Vingegaard and Evenepoel operated upon

The Belgian was fortunate in that, as opposed to Van Aert, his big ambitions lay further down the road, namely at this summer's Tour de France. It is clear those dreams are unaffected by his short absence, with the former world champion writing '#RoadToFrance' in the description of his 98.75km ride.

Earlier this week, Evenepoel was making the most of his time off by paying a first visit to the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal vs Chelsea in the Premier League. Despite being an academy prospect at Anderlecht as a youngster, the 24-year-old said he had been an Arsenal fan "since being a kid".

The Soudal Quick-Step leader was certainly treated on Tuesday evening, with the Gunners dispatching Chelsea by a scoreline of 5-0, with the Belgian Leandro Trossard scoring the first goal of the evening.

Two days later, Evenepoel was back in Lennik, Belgium and made his return to riding outside. He titled the ride 'On My Way Back 😈 Soon on YOUTUBE 👀🎥,' hinting that the return will soon be featured on his YouTube channel, which gives his supporters a behind-the-scenes look into the life of the former Vuelta a España champion.

With his training back on track, Evenepoel will head to an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada later this week, before racing at either the Critérium du Dauphiné or the Tour de Suisse. That decision is still to be made, but his eyes are firmly set on the Tour de France.

There, the world time trial champion will make his debut in the Grand Boucle and hope to challenge the likes of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) for the final podium. The participation of Van Aert's teammate, Jonas Vingegaard, remains up in the air following his own injuries from the high-speed Itzulia Basque Country pile-up.

Read more: Jonas Vingegaard leaves hospital 12 days after Basque Country crash

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