Cycling - Injured Van Aert ruled out of Giro d'Italia

FILE PHOTO: Cycling – Tour of Britain – Stage 2 – Wrexham to Wrexham – Britain – September 4, 2023 Jumbo – Visma’s Wout van Aert wearing the green jersey after finishing second in stage 2 REUTERS/Molly Darlington/File Photo

(Reuters) – Belgium’s Wout van Aert will miss this year’s Giro d’Italia as he recovers from injuries sustained in a crash at the Dwars door Vlaanderen last month, his team said on Thursday.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke a collarbone, his sternum and seven ribs in the crash and was ruled out of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Van Aert was targeting the Giro ahead of the the road race and time trial at the Paris Olympics.

“I’m really happy to tell you that I’m doing well,” Van Aert said in the message posted on social media. “I’m recovering from all my injuries at the moment.

“After my crash in Dwars Door Vlaanderen, a lot of injuries are quite good at the moment, but my ribs are still a limiting factor, so at this point I cannot train at all.

“I’m trying to do my first pedal strokes on the bike, but not enough to be able to train. That’s why we made the decision to not start the Giro d’Italia.”

Van Aert’s crash robbed cycling fans of the chance to see him go head-to-head with Dutch rival Mathieu van der Poel who ended up dominating both races.

“It’s a big shame, I’m really disappointed to also miss my second big goal of the season but at this moment I need to prioritise my health and I need to give my body the time to recover,” he said.

The team said Christophe Laporte will replace Van Aert in the Giro.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)