Any doubts about Jumbo-Visma's Wout Van Aert's participation in the Tour de France were put to rest when he rode without the knee pain that sidelined him from last week's Belgian championships.

"After four days of forced rest, I started back on the bike on Saturday," Van Aert posted on Strava of his 38.6 km ride. 'First it was a short session and then a double session, but yesterday I was able to do a long endurance ride with no pain.'

Van Aert skipped the defense of his Belgian time trial title last week "because the dates didn't work out" and announced that he would miss the Belgian road race championship race due to "mild inflammation" after striking his knee on a handlebar during training camp before the Tour de France ...

"It seems I slowed down at the right time," he said. The inflammation above my kneecap is gone and I can pedal as hard as I can again."

Van Aert said he is "ready" for his fourth Tour de France and will support Primoš Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard in the overall battle for Jumbo Visma and the green points jersey.

The Tour de France begins Friday with a time trial in Copenhagen. For all information on the 2022 Tour de France, including stage previews, provisional start lists, features, and news, visit the Tour de France hub.