Wout van Aert Ends Season Early, Withdraws from World Championships
Belgian cycling star Wout van Aert will not take part in the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda or the European Championships in Ardèche, opting to end his season in September. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider cited the need to manage his workload after a demanding campaign that included the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and a string of Spring Classics. His season highlight was a memorable victory on the Champs-Élysées to close the Tour.
Van Aert will wrap up his 2025 calendar with the Deutschland Tour (August 20–24), Bretagne Classic (August 31), GP de Québec (September 12), GP de Montréal (September 14), and the Super 8 Classic (September 20) in Belgium. He said the early finish would allow him to recover properly and avoid overexertion.
The decision is a setback for Belgium’s national team, which will now focus its World Championships ambitions on Remco Evenepoel. National coach Serge Pauwels confirmed that the squad is already adjusting its strategy in Van Aert’s absence.
It is the second consecutive year Van Aert has missed the Worlds. In 2024, he withdrew after suffering a knee injury at the Vuelta a España. This time, the decision is a matter of strategic planning rather than injury.
Van Aert’s withdrawal adds to a growing list of star riders skipping the Kigali course, which features high altitude and long climbs. The reduced field is expected to significantly change the dynamics of Africa’s first-ever Road World Championships.