{
    "title": "Elbow injury rules Wout Van Aert out of Tour de France",
    "modified_at": "2026-06-18 10:30:30",
    "published_at": "2026-06-17 14:09:00",
    "url": "https://belganewsagency-eu.prezly.com/elbow-injury-rules-wout-van-aert-out-of-the-tour-de-france",
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    "slug": "elbow-injury-rules-wout-van-aert-out-of-the-tour-de-france",
    "body": "<p><strong>Wout van Aert will not be on the start line of the Tour de France in Barcelona on 4 July. His team, Visma | Lease a Bike, has that the 31-year-old Belgian has not fully recovered from the elbow injury he sustained in a training crash. </strong></p><p>Van Aert seemed to be in good form last week, winning the fifth stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rh&ocirc;ne-Alpes. A day later, he withdrew from the race after an infection unexpectedly developed in the wound. </p><p>The wound was cleaned again this week in hospital, where Van Aert spent one night under observation. As he is still unable to train, his team decided that he would not be able to recover in time for the Tour de France, which starts on 4 July.</p><p>&quot;At the moment, it is mainly the elbow itself that has led us to make this decision,&quot; team manager Grischa Niermann told Het Nieuwsblad. &quot;Wout is on a course of antibiotics and is currently unable to train. You can put it off and put it off, but at some point you have to make a decision. Neither Wout nor the team wanted to rush things ahead of the Tour.&quot;</p><h4 id=\"a-big-disappointment\" >&#039;A big disappointment&#039;</h4><p>Van Aert will be missed in the peloton, as he has participated in every Tour de France since 2019. He won a total of 10 stages during that period, alongside the points classification in 2022. This year,he won Paris-Roubaix for the first time.</p><p>&quot;This is of course a big disappointment. The Tour de France is one of my main goals every year,&quot; Van Aert said on his team&#039;s website. &quot;Together with the team, we have concluded that starting the Tour in top form is not feasible at this point. My full focus is now on my recovery so I can return to my best level later this season.&quot;</p><p>The team will announce Van Aert&#039;s replacement next Tuesday, when the final line-up for the Tour de France is presented. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><sup>#FlandersNewsService | &copy; BELGA PHOTO ELIAS ROM</sup></p><hr /><p><strong>Related news</strong></p><div id=\"bookmark-5907e4a7-ce54-4194-9ef5-23647b534d02\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/wout-van-aert-wins-paris-roubaix-for-first-time-after-thrilling-duel-with-tadej-pogacar\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2Fa3f017ce-69f9-4360-8152-8b638ead4f00%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=1f9d5306a684f62106fdc76031bf1ec4)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/wout-van-aert-wins-paris-roubaix-for-first-time-after-thrilling-duel-with-tadej-pogacar\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"5907e4a7-ce54-4194-9ef5-23647b534d02\"\n           >\n                Wout van Aert wins Paris-Roubaix for first time after thrilling duel with Tadej Pogacar            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                Wout van Aert won Paris-Roubaix for the first time in his career on Sunday. He beat Slovenian world champion Tadej Pogacar in the sprint on the...            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2Fwout-van-aert-wins-paris-roubaix-for-first-time-after-thrilling-duel-with-tadej-pogacar&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n",
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    "links": [
        {
            "description": "Wout van Aert wins Paris-Roubaix for first time after thrilling duel with Tadej Pogacar",
            "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/wout-van-aert-wins-paris-roubaix-for-first-time-after-thrilling-duel-with-tadej-pogacar"
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    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
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