Injured Van Aert calls time on cycling season

Belgian rider Wout Van Aert, who was forced to abandon the Vuelta a Espana after a heavy fall, has ended his season to treat a serious right knee injury, his team said on Thursday.

"He needs time to recover," said the Visma-Lease a Bike team, confirming that the rider, winner of three stages of the Vuelta and at the top of the points and mountain classifications when he crashed out, is not suffering from a fracture.

The Antwerp rider, who was in fine form on the Spanish roads after winning the bronze medal in the Olympic time trial at the end of July, has had a torrid year, having been involved in no less than 10 falls.

The worst of those came at the end of March in the Dwars door Vlaanderen one-day race when he fractured his collarbone, sternum and several ribs, and suffered bruising to a lung.

These injuries forced him to give up his two major spring objectives, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Van Aert's decision to close his season now means he will miss the European championships in Limburg, Belgium on September 15, and the world championships in Zurich on September 29.