Wout van Aert Deeply Regrets What He Did the Day After Finishing the Tour de France
Still riding high from the intensity and glory of the Tour de France, Belgian cycling star Wout van Aert made what he now calls a “terrible timing decision” the very next morning—renewing his passport while still physically wrecked from three brutal weeks of racing.
“It’s probably the worst passport photo I’ve ever taken,” Van Aert joked in a recent interview. “Cold sore, sunken cheeks, helmet hair imprint still on my head… I looked like I hadn’t slept in a month, because I hadn’t.”
The Tour de France, which ended just a day earlier on the iconic Champs-Élysées, had pushed Van Aert to the limit. Though he didn’t secure the yellow jersey, his performance had been nothing short of heroic—racing selflessly for teammates, fighting for stage wins, and enduring extreme weather and terrain over 21 stages.
But instead of collapsing into bed or taking a long-overdue break, Van Aert found himself at a Belgian government office at 8 a.m. on Monday morning, standing under fluorescent lights in a queue with dozens of unsuspecting citizens—none of whom seemed to recognize that the man ahead of them had just completed one of the most grueling sporting events on Earth.
“I had a travel deadline coming up,” Van Aert explained. “I needed the new passport for a team training camp abroad. I figured I’d get it done quickly—just in and out. Big mistake.”
Fatigued, dehydrated, and still with a hint of saddle soreness, Van Aert admits he wasn’t thinking clearly. “The person taking the photo didn’t say a word,” he said. “Just snapped it. I saw the preview and thought, ‘Please, no.’ But there’s no retake option. That’s it. That’s my official document for the next seven years.”
Fans were quick to weigh in online after Van Aert’s lighthearted confession during a Belgian radio appearance. One tweet read: “Wout fought up mountains and over cobbles for three weeks, only to be defeated by a passport photo.” Another joked, “That cold sore deserves its own UCI ranking.”
Beyond the laughs, Van Aert says the experience was a wake-up call about the importance of rest—and vanity. “I could barely keep my eyes open,” he said. “You don’t realize how wrecked your body is until you’re sitting under harsh lighting being immortalized in government records.”
He’s since taken a step back from all non-essential responsibilities, focusing on rest and recovery. “No more post-Tour errands,” he laughed. “Next year, I’m not leaving the house for at least three days.”
While the passport photo may haunt him for years to come, Van Aert is taking it in stride. “If anything, it’s a reminder of what the Tour really takes out of you—and what not to do the day after.
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