Spotted on Strava: The adventures of Wout van Aert, who barely took a breather (and has started with Jumbo-Visma)

Wout van Aert is enjoying his offseason, but even then he is almost daily front-page news in the cycling media. A trip to Colombia, plans for a debut in the Giro d'Italia, and the classic spring season that is shortened as a result... Time to take a closer look at the man, because what has he actually been up to on his bike these past few weeks?

In October, Van Aert really took it easy. And why not? He continued until the World Gravel Championships on October 8, where, after a day full of bad luck, he still managed to finish neatly in the top ten. After that, he disappeared off the radar for two weeks. To spend some quality with the family, because in addition to Georges, Jerome was also born in the summer. Changing diapers and recovering from a long season, that was the mission. He did so with a vacation in Italy, among other things.

Van Aert gets back to it: cycling and running with friends and family

From October 19th onwards, Van Aert was back, first with a run that, judging by his caption ('Pilates legs 🥴'), didn't go very smoothly. A day later, the Van Aert family announced a collaboration with candle manufacturer Mon Dada. The money needs to come in, of course. From there, it was time to use the Strava app again on his phone, because it was time to exercise again!

At the end of October, Van Aert was still enjoying cycling and running shoes without any pressure, including a trip among friends on unpaved roads of one hundred kilometers towards the Netherlands and some running laps through the Herentals forests. We spotted a record of running 12.66 kilometers in just under an hour, which certainly is not taking it easy! The month ended with two rounds of cycling and a return trip to grandma.

Van Aert catches a cold and heads to Colombia

In the first week of November, Van Aert started pushing his legs a bit harder in preparation for a trip to Colombia. This included some Zwift sessions, running, and a longer ride in the rain. A good idea? Maybe not, because on November 6, Van Aert complained of a minor cold. As he put it: 'With the head of the tourist office of the Guangxi region.' The weather wasn't helping at this stage. 'Legs aren't good enough yet for winter tires,' the Belgian wrote on November 8 during a training ride.

Then it was time to fly. Van Aert met up with Rigoberto Urán for the Giro del Rigo. He was pampered for several days, and cycling took a bit of a backseat. With a ride of 77.18 km on the day of arrival and sweating it out during a run in the Colombian humidity. After a tough 50 km ride at an average of 37.1 km/h, it was finally time for Urán's Gran Fondo: 155.63 kilometers and 2,277 meters of elevation at an average speed of 39.2 km/h. Impressive numbers for a ride while on holiday...

Van Aert back in the cold, on to the more serious work!

After a week in Colombia, Van Aert returned to Herentals and had another week to enjoy the last relaxed rides. He headed out with Jan Bakelants ('Brrr'), rode 120 kilometers alone, got completely soaked in the rain, added over a hundred kilometers more, and headed out again with buddies Vincent and Marnix. During one of these rides, one of his friends even got caught in barbed wire! On November 20th, he enjoyed the last ride of the offseason, marking the start of the new school year. 'Tomorrow, the 2024 season starts', he wrote. From October 8th to November 20th, Van Aert's official offseason period, he ran 87.9 kilometers and cycled 1,650.47 kilometers... We certainly know people who take it a bit easier during their vacation!

On Tuesday, November 21st, the 2024 season began. In the morning, it was time for a quick 7.7-kilometer run, which he completed in just over 35 minutes together with Tiesj Benoot, followed in the afternoon by a 110-kilometer reconnaissance of Dwars door Vlaanderen. A little hint towards Van Aert's program? For the spring, he likely only has Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix scheduled in terms of cobbled races. So it's no surprise that on Wednesday, there was a reconnaissance of De Ronde, again with his Jumbo-Visma teammates. Van Aert's season has begun, and we'll see him in action for the first time in the cyclo-cross race on December 9th in Essen. We can't wait!