Wout van Aert trains outside during altitude camp despite snow

Good news from Wout van Aert in the Sierra Nevada. Due to the bad weather in southern Spain, the classics leader of Visma | Lease a Bike was forced to train indoors on Thursday, but a day later he was able to ride outside. A welcome change with the spring classics approaching.

Van Aert is staying with several teammates at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento, a hotel at 2,320 meters altitude. On Thursday, he spent four hours on the smart trainer over two sessions. The Sierra Nevada has been hit by snowfall, strong winds, and heavy rain in recent days. Many roads were less accessible, and the Andalusia region warned of a high risk of avalanches. Weather conditions are expected to improve only in the second half of next week.

Still, Van Aert was able to train outdoors again on Friday. He drove down the mountain to Granada to do a ride with his Italian teammate Davide Piganzoli. The pair covered 127 kilometers with nearly 1,600 meters of climbing in just over four hours. "Blue sky scenario" was the title of Van Aert’s Strava post. Piganzoli shared some photos showing that the weather was indeed perfect for cycling down below.

'I'm starting to appreciate it'
Saturday saw Van Aert back on the indoor trainer again. However, he didn’t seem too bothered by it. "I'm starting to appreciate it," he wrote on Strava referencing his ride lasting just under an hour and a half.

Van Aert is preparing at altitude for the spring classics, starting with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where he will kick off his season on Saturday, February 28. Alongside Van Aert and Piganzoli, Visma | Lease a Bike teammates Timo Kielich, Edoardo Affini, Christophe Laporte, Niklas Behrens, and Bruno Armirail are also at altitude in the Sierra Nevada.