Van Aert back in Belgium and back on the bike: 'I've never recovered from a classic so quickly'

Wout van Aert got some time off after his historic victory at Paris-Roubaix. Now the Visma | Lease a Bike rider has been spotted back in the saddle. On Tuesday, he was in Mechelen for the opening of sponsor Lease a Bike. There he spoke toBelgian website Sporza about what life has looked like since that famous 12 April.

He did get back on the bike on Tuesday — though by his own admission it was "the slowest ride of the year." How slow? His Strava tells all. Van Aert covered just under 6.5 kilometres in just over 27 minutes, at an average speed of 14.2 kilometres per hour.

The Visma star is back on the bike, and what he describes as "an intense week" is behind him. "But also a really beautiful week, because I could go straight on holiday. It wasn't a last-minute decision — it was already planned. With the Roubaix win in the bag, the timing couldn't have been better," said Van Aert.

He has made the most of celebrating his Monument victory. "I raised a glass to the cobblestones many times with my wife and kids. It became a bit of a running joke — that was fun," said Van Aert, who says the hype around his Roubaix win is still going strong. "Being home for a few days, I understand just how crazy things are here in Belgium. It probably wasn't a bad thing to escape from it all for a bit and have some quality time."

And how are the legs, some ten days on from Roubaix? "I've never recovered from a classic so quickly, because I didn't feel tired at all," laughed Van Aert. "I could take on the world, I'd say. It was really special to be able to savour it fully, because a rest period was coming up anyway. Together with that Sunday itself, it's a week that will stay with me."