see Sober Vaud Van Aert gets royal welcome in Colombia and teaches local fans how to pronounce his name

Bienvenidos a Colombia! Wood van Aert was warmly received in South America for participating in a local granfondo named after colleague Ricoberto Uran. A sobering step for what’s yet to come this winter.

see A warm welcome to Wout van Aert in Colombia

‘El Giro de Rico’. For Wout van Aert (29) this is the first step in preparation for the cyclo-cross and upcoming road season. Or his last break after the current cycling year, depending on how you look at it. The Gran Fondo – a cycling race mainly for amateurs – will travel more than 160 kilometers through the Colombian highlands near the capital Bogotá next Sunday.

The face of the competition is Ricobert Uran (36), who is very popular in Colombia. The same man who proudly announced Van Aert’s participation last month showed up at the airport in Colombia to greet our compatriot. The scenes were frantically filmed by the media team behind the match, while a relaxed Van Aert greeted the warm reception.

Footage shows Van Aert being driven from the airport to his residence in a van and giving Colombian fans the correct pronunciation of his name. There is also time for coffee and cake in a peaceful setting. Now we have to wait for the first Strava activity and competition in South America.

Also, we have to wait for Van Aert’s cyclo-cross project. Main competitor Mathieu van der Poel will start in Mol on December 22 and continue until the World Cup in early February. There is still no concrete answer about Van Aert’s plan, but it is known that it will only be in the second half of December and the first week of January. And maybe without a championship.