The returning Wout Van Aert has the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in his sights. The Belgian of Visma | Lease a Bike will make his return to racing today at the Tour of Norway, after two difficult months spent away from racing due to the terrible crash at Dwars Door Vlaanderen. The winner of the 2020 Milan-San Remo saw his dreams of glory fade in the classics this spring, but he has now shifted his season goals to other equally coveted and prestigious races, such as the Olympic time trial.

Interviewed by Sporza on the eve of the Scandinavian stage race, the 29-year-old from Herentals also spoke at length about his rehabilitation and his current physical condition. “I can pedal without feeling pain, but afterwards I often continue to have problems,” Van Aert recounted, “So [the fall – ed.] has not yet been completely forgotten. The ribs in particular cause tension in the muscles, thus causing back pain if I sit in the saddle for too long.”

The recovery process for him was long and cumbersome, but then things went well: “It dragged on for longer than I had hoped and thought. I had underestimated her. In my head the verdict was just that fractured collarbone. The rehabilitation was of ups and downs because I had relapses every now and then, it was hard to accept. I was tired of having to watch the races on TV. I wasn’t enjoying it at all, but from my perspective it didn’t look that bad until Paris-Roubaix. That was a really tough day. Then I realized I was still a long way from returning to racing. Things didn’t go my way until two weeks ago, when I went to Spain on a retreat. Before that I was able to ride my bike every day, but in Spain I was able to train.”

The Belgian comes to the start of the Tour of Norway without too many ambitions, but with a lot of desire to win in the next races he might participate in. “Ideally I would like to win all four stages and take everything I can, but unfortunately that’s not realistic. I hope to come home with the confidence that I can compete for a win in the summer in more important races, the ones that belong to me. The Tour is an option are at best. The Olympics is a more realistic option. The time trial will be in two months. I had little doubt about that one. But I will only go to Paris if I can perform at the highest level.”