The Jumbo-Visma team is cautious about Wout Van Aert's return to racing in Paris-Roubaix after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Van Aert (open in new tab) is reportedly training in Spain after testing negative for the virus last Wednesday. He was forced to miss the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race, but may attempt to return in a support role, and possibly win, in Paris-Roubaix (open in new tab).

Van Aert was in great form before winning COVID-19, winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, finishing in the top three in the six stages of Paris-Nice, and E3 with teammate Christophe Laporte in Jumbo-Visma (opens in new tab) He won the Saxo Bank Classic (open in new tab). Jumbo-Visma refused to speculate on the possibility of Van Aert racing in Paris-Roubaix, telling the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws (opens in new tab): "He is training. Van Aert has also stopped publishing his training data on Strava. We want to prevent speculation," Richard Plagge, general manager of Jumbo Visma, told the Flemish newspaper.

"We have a clear agreement with the medical management that we should be more than cautious. That's because we don't know the long-term effects of Covid. The heart, muscle metabolism, lungs, all could be affected." [Plug himself had COVID-19 two years ago, and his personal experience with its potential long-term effects has strengthened his conviction that it is best not to be overly ambitious.

Jumbo Visma's wariness of the disease was also evident at a training camp in Spain earlier this year, where, unlike other teams in the same predicament, the entire camp was immediately cancelled after only one day if anyone became infected. Jumbo Visma is closely following his training program, but will conduct extensive testing before allowing him to return to racing. To say that the Dutch team is not prepared to cross the red line is to put the rider's health at risk. Plug told Het Laatste Nieuws, "There is still a goal; if he needs two, three, or five weeks of rest, then we want him to be able to race normally again." How much rest does Wout need?