Van Aert heads to altitude camp with Visma | Lease a Bike, despite still-limiting ankle

Van Aert will not be the only one at altitude. Six teammates are also heading to Spain, including new signings Timo Kielich, Bruno Armirail and Davide Piganzoli. Christophe Laporte is travelling as well, though his stay is expected to be shorter: the Frenchman is set to race the Ruta del Sol (Vuelta a Andalucía) on 18 February.

For Van Aert, the camp is not just about building form. It is also part of an ongoing rehabilitation process after his ankle injury earlier this winter. The Belgian crashed in January during the cyclo-cross race in Mol, suffering a small fracture in his ankle. It brought his winter campaign to an abrupt end, followed by surgery — and he is still working his way back.

The crash in Mol was a sour note in a cyclo-cross season that, by his own account, he had started “sharper” than before. But as was the case in 2025, Van Aert is again trying to time his recovery for his first road race of the year — with one key difference: he is reportedly further along than last season, when he only went to altitude in March due to lingering knee issues.

Rehabilitation is going well, but Van Aert says he is not fully there yet. “I’ve already been able to do training rides of five to six hours, but I still can’t complete every session the way I want. Sprinting, or really pulling on the pedals like during maximal efforts, isn’t possible yet,” he said to Het Laatste Nieuws. With Omloop Het Nieuwsblad now only three weeks away, the countdown is on for the former winner — and his road opening is starting to look like a race against the clock.