Due to a knee injury sustained in a crash at the Vuelta a España, Wout Van Aert will miss the World Championships and will not race this season.

Visma-Lease a Bike revealed that the Belgian rider “suffered a serious knee injury requiring intensive care.”

Van Aert injured his right knee on the descent of the Colada Lilomena on stage 16 and abandoned the Vuelta.

Initial tests in Spain revealed no fractures from the crash, but Van Aert underwent further tests at a hospital in Herental after returning to Belgium on Wednesday.

“Van Art will stay in a Belgian hospital and receive IV antibiotics to minimize the risk of infection,” Visma-Lease a Bike said.

“He will then rest and fully recover before carefully setting his sights on the next season.

Van Aert won three stages in the Vuelta and was leading both the points and mountains prizes before leaving the race in a crash.

The 29-year-old was forced to prematurely end his Classical campaign for the 2024 season and abandon his planned Giro d'Italia debut after a major crash at Dwars door Hlaanderen. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]