Teams & Riders Tom Dumoulin discussion thread

[Rackham]

Wow, did not expect this. I mean we could see last year (especially in the behind the scenes documentaries at The Tour & Vuelta) that he wasn't happy (there was even a tearful breakdown moment in the Tour), but it seems so weird, sudden & not exactly planned considering he's also suddenly leaving the Jumbo training camp (and couldn't he just renegotiate his contract "down" & ride fewer races to get his form back or something like that if he's not comfortable with the pressure at the moment?).

And a big shout-out (lol actually) to the press relations people at Jumbo who yesterday (I even watched the video!) made Tom Dumoulin look like he was back, motivated & ready for this season's objectives... and are now making his "takes a break" announcement also seem totally normal & not at all out of the ordinary.

Smooth PR.

 

[Big Doopie]

I wish him well and good health.

As a fan of both big Tom and remco, looks like this (and future?) years may be very different than how I originally hoped.

 

[Lequack]

In his own words:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEFcmg6iPq0&feature=emb_title

 

[JosefK]

It sounds like it's the right time for Tom to tip his cap to cycling and move on with the rest of his life. Well done.

 

[RedheadDane]

And a big shout-out (lol actually) to the press relations people at Jumbo who yesterday (I even watched the video!) made Tom Dumoulin look like he was back, motivated & ready for this season's objectives... and are now making his "takes a break" announcement also seem totally normal & not at all out of the ordinary.

Smooth PR.

Maybe he honestly thought he was okay, thought he was motivated for racing. But then, when it got so close... turned out, he wasn't.

 

[Red Rick]

 

[Rackham]

Maybe he honestly thought he was okay, thought he was motivated for racing. But then, when it got so close... turned out, he wasn't.

It's all speculation really but I just can't see how any of this is good for Jumbo.

One of the main talking-points for a while now has been "how" Jumbo can win the Tour this year, with a tactic involving taking several team leaders described as the best option. Well, they just lost that because it's all 100% behind Roglic now (after even Roglic himself said in his recent interview it would be better if other teams had to focus on more than just him). They even used Dumoulin in the Jumbo jersey reveal images (& in the Cervélo bikes sponsorship images).

If he'd made this announcement 4 weeks ago, I would have been more inclined to believe it was something discussed & planned. Because I just can't see "how" this sudden announcement keeps Dumoulin & the Jumbo team on good terms.

I guess we'll find out more in the coming days/weeks/months.

 

[jmdirt]

I'm not surprised. My first thought though was why slog through the long boring winter training only to stop now? Maybe redheaddane is correct that TD thought that the winter would recharge him but it didn't.

I wish him luck in what ever is next in his life.

 

[Bolder]

I'm not surprised. My first thought though was why slog through the long boring winter training only to stop now? Maybe redheaddane is correct that TD thought that the winter would recharge him but it didn't.

I wish him luck in what ever in next in his life.

I didn't expect this but also not surprised. He clearly wasn't enjoying himself and couldn't get back to GT contender form. That must have been really frustrating and disheartening. It's a 100% lifestyle and if he's going backwards AND not having fun, better to step away.

I hope this isn't the end of his career -- I continue to believe that at his best he's the equal of any GT rider.

 

[titan31]

Shame to hear that. From a personal point of view, I hope he can either get his love back for this or else find something else that he enjoys doing.

From a cycling point of view, this is a disaster for Jumbo. They'll likely need to redo a bunch of their schedule now. Bennett could be a big loser in this as he'll be pulled into the Tour team now most likely. Might go with Vingegaard or Oomen instead maybe.

 

[hayneplane]

Possibly it’s just knowing that he didn’t see it as likely that he would ever regain the top 5% that would elevate him from good domestique back to world champion TTer and Grand Tour major contender and the mental and physical sacrifice didn’t seem worth it.

A full break may bring back the fire but would not be shocked if he didn’t return professionally.

 

[hayneplane]

Shame to hear that. From a personal point of view, I hope he can either get his love back for this or else find something else that he enjoys doing.

From a cycling point of view, this is a disaster for Jumbo. They'll likely need to redo a bunch of their schedule now. Bennett could be a big loser in this as he'll be pulled into the Tour team now most likely. Might go with Vingegaard or Oomen instead maybe.

Hope Bennett sticks with the Giro, he deserves it and could have got a top 5 or better in last years edition.

 

[tobydawq]

Why not just take the millions and ride around?

 

[sir fly]

He's been playing with his wife's books.
Only cannabis farming can solve that.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Possibly it’s just knowing that he didn’t see it as likely that he would ever regain the top 5% that would elevate him from good domestique back to world champion TTer and Grand Tour major contender and the mental and physical sacrifice didn’t seem worth it.

The Jumbo TDF documentary probably didn't help, either.

The edit made him look pretty bad, even though Rogla was the focal point. Interesting edit choices re: TD to say the least.

 

[Rackham]

The Jumbo TDF documentary probably didn't help, either.

The edit made him look pretty bad, even though Rogla was the focal point. Interesting edit choices re: TD to say the least.

Edit "choices" or more like overwhelming evidence based on all collected footage?

He was semi-reprimanded by Tony Martin at one point, criticized Jumbo's tactics, cried like a child in the Pyrenees & even called for Van Aert to "slow down" when he set the tempo on the climb which Roglic won early in the Tour.

I watched that documentary & when you add the Vuelta on top (basically quitting to "regain form" when he could have served a purpose), then yeah, you wonder what Jumbo were even paying the guy for. And here's where Dumoulin is wrong, i.e. when he says it doesn't serve his team to finish 12th in the Tour, what "if" he helps the team get the yellow jersey & finishes 12th? Life doesn't evolve around Tom Dumoulin but his entire interview today (I watched with English captions enabled because I don't speak Dutch) makes him appear like someone who only cares "if" he's the guy winning & doesn't give a rats backside about cycling from the moment he cannot guarantee he'll be competing for the win himself.

I just don't think he realizes how lucky he is (was?) to have that sort of contract & compete for that sort of team. It's a luxury.

 

[HelloDolly]

This maybe true but if you are earmarked to be the winner...the top banana then you dont find it easy to be the domestique .Its a major issue in cycling especially right now .It kinda puts paid to the notion that cycling is a teamsport

Say back in the day there were clear top dogs and maybe at most 4 or 5
Like Froome v Contador v Quintana v Nibali
or
Hinault v LeMont v Faigon v Delgado


Nowadays the topdog position keeps changing and there are many who can fill the role
Look at Aru's reaction at the Tour and he was on a big wage...If he wasn't leader he went home. Let see how Ineos mange all their talent this year ?

Its so hard to be the' best' and then so hard to give up the dream

Dumolin's reaction to Pogacar TT at the Tour says alot about how he feels about his chances of getting back on top

Jumbo Visma Tour Documentary write up =
As the team try to regroup and digest what has just happened, DS Frans Maassen offers an upside to Dumoulin.
“Second in a TT, not bad huh?”
“Yeah but behind f**king Pogačar who sits on his bike as a junior,” seethes Dumoulin.
“A minute and a half [Pogačar’s winning gap over Dumoulin] huh?! While I’m a world…with today’s time trial I’d go to Bergen [where he won his TT rainbow jersey] and again have become world champion.
“I just don’t understand how this guy then…he would also have had me in Bergen if he rides a minute and a half better! I can’t find any solution think about how in God’s name I should have been a minute and a half faster.”
“There’s not much to say huh, sometimes you win sometimes you lose,” Roglič says in his team car.
“How did you feel?” asks team boss Richard Plugge.
“I was feeling 110 per cent far from enough.”

Roglič finally cracks as he waits for the final podium press conference.
“Ah, f**k…I still cannot understand two minutes, that’s a big difference.

“I don’t know…they have to calculate what kind of power to achieve that time. That is just a different world. I cannot understand it. If you can ride so hard then every stage you have to be with one leg. 1-20 in 36km, 55 minutes.”

 

[Salvarani]

You keep telling yourself you are okay, until it overwhelms you that you are not.

Hopefully he has stopped in time and that he will be alright with whatever he decides to do next.

 

[Red Rick]

When the mental struggles go back to before the injury, I don't see why anyone relates it specifically to being past it, not being able to win anymore, or to having to be a domestique. If anything his Tour ITT, based on his preperation etc showed he even could come back and regain his form. Especially considering he's taking unpaid leave when he could simply check out and collect like 5M on that contract or whatever, in addition to nearly quitting during the COVID lockdown you'd have to assume he's deeply, deeply unhappy as a cyclist, way beyond just salty he can't win anymore.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Edit "choices" or more like overwhelming evidence based on all collected footage?

The latter, of course. I just don't think it was a smart move on their part. If you want to motivate someone this is not the way to go.

 

[BlueRoads]

Now all the statements sound like he has serious psychological issues, like a depression. I wish him all the best, whatever he may do.

 

[Gigs_98]

Feels like yesterday when he finished 2nd in the 2018 Tour and looked like the guy to break the Ineos dominance. The guy who beat Quintana and Nibali at the giro, at a time when people thought nobody but Contador and Froome stood any chance against them, the guy who could have won consecutive giros if not for an absolute miracle and the guy who proved to me that the double is still doable. This just saddens me. I so, so hope he will come back but at this point I don't see it. There are few cases of riders who had two consecutive bad seasons and returned as strong as they had ever been, but they get even more rare for every year you add. This feels very Andy Schleck like to me and I don't like that.

In any case, I wish him all the best and I hope he finds joy outside of cycling. The guy was never racing for us but for himself and now if this is what makes him happy it is undoubtedly the right decision

 

[webvan]

Bad and unexpected news but the fact is he seemed very bitter so it's probably for the best. Who knows, maybe the "time off" will give him the "shot in the arm" he needs and can reassess. He's not in the same position as Andy Schleck who was a shadow of his former self. Dumoulin is not that far...

 

[johnymax]

Wow shocking news. Didn't expect this at all. Was just writing yesterday how he's not a domestic and if he'll show strong form he'll always have his chances. Even to win the Tour. And now this. Hopefully it's a temporary stop and that's not the end of his career. Either way, good luck in whatever his choice going forward will be.

 

[masking_agent]

Sad reality these days when an athlete can no longer handle the mental strain of the sport. I don’t think we’ll see him ride as a pro again. Time away, means time off the bike and in our sport, that means less riding, and more eating which means you become too fat for the sport. Cycling is so finite when it comes to bmi and power to weight ratio, that if he steps away now, he’d have to develop an insatiable appetite to train again to get back into any reasonable shape. I don’t think mentally he’ll want that grind either. Then if he were to come back, I don’t think a moderately trained pro rider in his early 30’s will be able to match the young 20-21 year sensations now ? If he did come back, he would be domestique at best fighting for a stage win in certain races. I think we bid adios to Tom.