It was in the one-day race Dwars door Vlaanderen at home in Belgium at the end of March that van Aert crashed hard and broke his collarbone and several ribs.
– I’m really disappointed to miss my second big goal of the season but at this moment I have to prioritize my health and I have to give my body time to recover, he says in a video he posted.
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The Giro d’Italia begins with the first stage in Venaria Reale with the finish in Turin on May 4. It ends in Rome on May 26. The next big goal for the Belgian is the Olympics in Paris.
Stable mate with injured Vingegaard
He can’t train at all at the moment. van Aert is stablemate in Visma with Jonas Vingegaard who crashed badly in the Basque Country with several days in hospital after several fractures and a punctured lung.
There is a big question mark over whether the Dane can try to defend his double titles in the Tour de France starting on June 29.
29-year-old van Aert won Olympic silver in the road race in Tokyo 2021. He also has four World Cup silvers, two in road and two in tempo on his track record.
The Olympics in Paris open on July 26.