Wout Van Aert has withdrawn from the Belgian championships after Jumbo Wisma injured his knee during the Tignes training camp before the Tour de France. In a statement released Thursday morning, Van Aert said the decision was made so as not to jeopardize his participation in the Tour. [It's a real shame that I won't be able to defend the jersey. Normally I would not have forfeited the Belgian championships," Van Aert said.

"I also regret missing the time trial. But I don't want to jeopardize the Tour, so this is the wisest decision I could have made."

"I'm not going to miss the Tour," he said.

According to Jambovisma, Van Aat's injury was caused by hitting his knee on the handlebars while training in Tignes. The team said this had caused "mild inflammation over the last few days."

Earlier this week, Van Aert was named to Jumbo Visma's Tour 8-man slate. Primoš Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard lead the team's overall contenders, but Van Aert, who won three stages last year, is free to pursue the green jersey.

The trio had a great result at the recent Criterium du Dauphiné, with Van Aert taking two stage wins and the green jersey.

Van Aert's injury has also resulted in the Belgian road title being vacated, and he will be disappointed to miss Thursday's Gavre time trial, the final test before the Tour's opening time trial in Copenhagen.

Some teams will not compete in the Tour to avoid the impact of COVID-19, but Van Aat's teammates Tiesj Benoot and Nathan Van Hooydonk will compete in Sunday's road race as scheduled.