Teams & Riders Tom Dumoulin discussion thread

[Tim Booth]

Giro
BAKELANTS Jan
DUMOULIN Tom
HAGA Chad
HAMILTON Chris
KELDERMAN Wilco
POWER Robert
TUSVELD Martijn
VERVAEKE Louis

Tour
ARNDT Nikias
DUMOULIN Tom
KELDERMAN Wilco
KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren
KÄMNA Lennard
MATTHEWS Michael
OOMEN Sam
ROCHE Nicholas

I don't understand this. Sunweb/Dumoulin wants to go all in for the Giro and than they put a far stronger squad on paper for the Tour...plus why on earth would you already name your squad now. There's something like form or injuries.

I guess this list is not official, or is it? It's just speculation, however I think it's close to the truth. The Tour team almost certainly will feature Dumoulin, Kelderman, Oomen, Roche and Matthews.

These are the preliminary selections of Team Sunweb for the Giro and the Tour
https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/dit-zijn-de-voorlopige-selecties-van-team-sunweb-voor-de-giro-en-de-tour/

 

[kiszol]

Well it's interesting then considering that last year they only finalized the team days before each GT.
However it's different now and it underlines how serious is their approach of this double attempt by Dumoulin. Sponsor duties aside they won't send their absolute best team to the Tour if they would surely know that Dumoulin has no chance of winning it. If the sponsor insists they at least send a similarly strong team to the Giro which is the main objective for the year based on the team's and Tom's communication.

I think that they are very serious about the Tour but winning the Giro is a great success and if Tom does that he can ride with less pressure at the Tour aided by a superb team. As for the Giro squad it's not bad either. I think it's even better than the 2017 one and Tom showed he doesn't need that much support. Hopefully next year he will have way more help in the mountains than during the 2017 edition when the only real helper Kelderman crashed out early in the race...

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Re:

Well it's interesting then considering that last year they only finalized the team days before each GT.
However it's different now and it underlines how serious is their approach of this double attempt by Dumoulin. Sponsor duties aside they won't send their absolute best team to the Tour if they would surely know that Dumoulin has no chance of winning it. If the sponsor insists they at least send a similarly strong team to the Giro which is the main objective for the year based on the team's and Tom's communication.

I think that they are very serious about the Tour but winning the Giro is a great success and if Tom does that he can ride with less pressure at the Tour aided by a superb team. As for the Giro squad it's not bad either. I think it's even better than the 2017 one and Tom showed he doesn't need that much support. Hopefully next year he will have way more help in the mountains than during the 2017 edition when the only real helper Kelderman crashed out early in the race...

Right, he didn't need help when he was up against 2 GT specialists who weren't at their career best, to put it mildly. And because Mollema was a de facto dom, when it mattered. Last year a better team would have definitely helped.

Not sure what to make of that Giro squad. I mean, it could be worse, but it's clear that the Tour is their main focus, no matter if they claim otherwise.

 

[kiszol]

Yeah I agree with you. They are stating that the Giro is the main target but it can't be true. They want that Tour victory very much. Their strategy is risky since Tom can easily earn another double podium without winning a GT but it's a low risk I would say. A stronger team is always good but I like their selections pretty much. If Tom doesn't win the Giro I don't think it would play out differently with a stronger squad. However he could use all help possible in the fight against the Sky A team in France.

As for the 2017 Giro I don't believe that both Quintana and Nibali had that poor form. If anything the results of Dumoulin at last year's GTs showed that he is very strong and capable of beating a full in form Quintana and Nibali. Of course he was weaker in 2017 but not by that much. They didn't take him a serious contender for very long and that surely helped him.

 

[IndianCyclist]

The Giro team's objective looks to be to protect Dumoulin on the flats and guide him to the foot of the last mountain and then leave him to TT to the finish if necessary. They are banking on the supposition that he will gain 3-5 mins in the TTs.
The TDF team looks to be more for stage wins with GC a secondary priority with the team maybe only focusing on it in the last week and only if they are in the lead.

 

[Squire]

Re:

The Giro team's objective looks to be to protect Dumoulin on the flats and guide him to the foot of the last mountain and then leave him to TT to the finish if necessary. They are banking on the supposition that he will gain 3-5 mins in the TTs.
The TDF team looks to be more for stage wins with GC a secondary priority with the team maybe only focusing on it in the last week and only if they are in the lead.

The Tour team's objective is quite clearly the TTT. Otherwise there's no reason whatsoever to bring Kämna.

The Giro team is about as good as they can make it. Oomen can't be expected to slave for two GTs straight, so the only considerable improvement would be Roche.

 

[kiszol]

I wouldn't say the Tour team is clearly designed for the TTT. It's clearly a great team for the team time trial but they are great for every aspect of the race, be it mountain and flat support, crosswind protection, quick downhill (Kragh) or uphill (Matthews) pulls.
I don't believe you would compose such a strong team for a main priority of stage hunting... Yeah Matthews will have his chances but the main target has to be the GC. Should Dumoulin fade due to fatigue they would still have a hopefully yet again improved and fresh Oomen who can target a TOP 10 himself to say the least.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Re: Re:

Yeah, if the Giro would have been their main objective, then Oomen would have been selected for that GT. Not for both, but that choice is pretty telling.

The Tour squad + Bakelants - Kämna would be the ideal Giro line up, I think.

 

[Squire]

Re: Re:

The Tour squad + Bakelants - Kämna would be the ideal Giro line up, I think.

I would've kept Haga and maybe Tusveld in place of Matthews and Arndt if you want to stay realistic. Agree with the Bakelants/Kämna switch.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

I would guess Curvers will do at least one of them (probably the Giro again) - otherwise he might as well have retired, as was the original plan

 

[IndianCyclist]

Kelderman has crashed in the last 2 years and has not been able to support Tom in the GTs. What are the chances that he wont crash/fall ill. If he is out then the Giro team is extremely weak in the mountains especially if MS come with their strongest team. Yates has already shown his tendency to be aggressive from far out.

 

[HelloDolly]

Very intelligent from Tom and Sunweb...they can win the Giro and then see what happens
Tom is getting better all the time and he is very smart...a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush
Remember he will have no pressure for the Tour while SKY will have 2 competing leaders who both want to win this year...no quarter will be given

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Bit of a false start. Came here with ambition but was clearly lacking. Not horrible or anything, but not in great shape yet. And considering the Tirreno is his main spring goal it looks like he will run out of time vs people in way better shape atm..

 

[Lequack]

Re:

Bit of a false start. Came here with ambition but was clearly lacking. Not horrible or anything, but not in great shape yet. And considering the Tirreno is his main spring goal it looks like he will run out of time vs people in way better shape atm..

The Eurosport commentator tried to convince us that he is working for Wilco Keldermann, but I doubt that was the case.

 

[DNP-Old]

Re: Re:

Bit of a false start. Came here with ambition but was clearly lacking. Not horrible or anything, but not in great shape yet. And considering the Tirreno is his main spring goal it looks like he will run out of time vs people in way better shape atm..

The Eurosport commentator tried to convince us that he is working for Wilco Keldermann, but I doubt that was the case.

He was, but that is a case of cause and effect. He worked because he was far from good enough himself. Initially, the plan for Tom was to do well for himself. That went out the window real quick.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

You can have the ambition, but form doesn't come on itself. It's the first race of the season after all. And he's had problems being good in the spring, 2017 was one of the only exceptions were he was pretty good in february/march

 

[ecw445]

Re:

Bit of a false start. Came here with ambition but was clearly lacking. Not horrible or anything, but not in great shape yet. And considering the Tirreno is his main spring goal it looks like he will run out of time vs people in way better shape atm..

He should he wait til the Giro to peak so he still has something left for Le Tour

 

[Red Rick]

Should just be decent at Tirreno. Not everyone can do what Nibali's been doing

 

[Salvarani]

He will probably wanna slowly build up his shape and form. Just get them racing days.

A top 10-15 in UAE would still be pretty respectful, with the competition there. Tirreno could maybe expect better, but wouldnt be all bad with "just a top 10" either. Solid base level for not being in great shape yet.

If he just get through UAE and Tirreno without any mishaps or crashes, it is already an improvement on last year. He had a horrid time last year in these races.

 

[HelloDolly]

Tom Dumoulin should not peak till Giro imo ...then he can have something for the Tour and the Worlds

 

[Red Rick]

Form doesn't look so bad now.

Tirreno should be a complete dogfight with Roglic and whoever is Sky leadah

 

[Lequack]

Re:

Form doesn't look so bad now.

Tirreno should be a complete dogfight with Roglic and whoever is Sky leadah

I thought it was Geraint for the Tirreno no?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yeah, a lot better. Though the Tirreno this year is mostly shorter climbs which suits others more than him

 

[kiszol]

Great result today. The form is not bad, he had that one bad day that's all.
The Giro is haping up nicely now, Dumoulin, Roglic, Yates, Bernal, Nibali, Lopez, maybe even Thomas?, what a race! Between Tom and Primoz the time trials could be the deciding factor. Both are very good but focusing more and more on climbing is surely hurting their TT skills. The question is which of them is more affected by that.

 

[dastott]

Will be a very interesting battle between those two. Big Tom probably has a slight edge in the TTs but Roglic is a little more punchy and a better descender.