Sarah De Bie, Van Aert's wife, on crashes, death and public life: 'Wout has taught me to put things into perspective'

Sarah De Bie, Wout van Aert’s wife, offered a glimpse into how she experiences her husband’s career in an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. In the interview, De Bie discusses, among other things, Van Aert’s crashes and how she has to juggle everything—including the kids—during those moments.

De Bie stands alongside one of Belgium’s most famous cyclists, and is in the spotlight herself. “Elite sports is a tough world where you’re constantly held to the highest standards, and half of Flanders has an opinion about you or wants something from you. Wout has taught me to put things into perspective—especially reactions on social media—but I’m still a sensitive person.”

"It might not seem that way, because I can be tough and straightforward. Aside from Wout and the kids, I almost never hug people, but that’s precisely because I’ve learned to shield my emotions over the years. But don’t get me wrong: we have a wonderful life—one I never would have dared to dream of as a teenager,” De Bie told Het Nieuwsblad.

Van Aert has faced his share of setbacks in recent years. For example, in 2024, he first suffered a hard crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen and later that year in the Vuelta. “That’s not always easy to deal with. When Wout crashed in Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2024 and again five months later in the Vuelta, that was the hardest period of his career for me. It was one crash too many. He had a real shot at the green jersey, so he went from a high point to a complete standstill all of a sudden. Physically, he couldn’t do anything for a while, so he was kind of like a third child in the house.”

There’s one moment his wife will never forget either: the crash during the time trial in Pau in 2019, when Van Aert sliced his leg open on a crowd barrier. “I wanted to go straight to Wout, but I couldn’t. Fortunately, two or three days later, I was allowed to ride along from the local hospital to AZ Herentals. There, Dr. Toon Claes saw that my health had also suffered from the shock, so he said, ‘We’re going to keep you here for a while.’ I did indeed stay overnight.”

"I realise now that that fall in Pau was traumatic, because I only remember bits and pieces of it. The same goes for the death of my grandmother—Dad’s mom—in 2014. Our lives seem to be moving at such a fast pace that I can’t really take the time to reflect on many things,” said De Bie.

"What really hit me hard recently was the death of Robert Gesink’s wife (a former Dutch cyclist, ed.) last year. Seeing how that always-smiling Daisy fell ill and passed away in just a few months taught me to enjoy life more—for example, moments with Georges and Jérôme—even if, with all their energy, I sometimes feel like I could tear my hair out."