Teams & Riders Tom Dumoulin discussion thread

[Red Rick]

Dumoulin doesn't like the spotlight IIRC, so if he's not doing anything that requires publicity itself then I expect him to just go his way.

I can see him doing an interview or two but not so soon and I'd imagine the demand for that will be during the Tour.

 

[Lequack]

Jumbo-Visma does not write off Tom Dumoulin for the Tour de France (Dutch)

Jumbo-Visma schrijft Tom Dumoulin niet af voor Tour de France | WielerFlits

Jumbo-Visma is op het hoofdkwartier druk bezig met het smeden van een plan-B voor de komende Tour de France. Dat is het gevolg van de beslissing van Tom Dumoulin om tijdelijk een pauze in te lassen. Maar diezelfde Tom Dumoulin zingt nog altijd voorzichtig rond in het achterhoofd van de sportieve...

www.wielerflits.nl

 

[Lequack]

Jumbo-Visma boss hopeful for Tom Dumoulin return

Jumbo-Visma manager Richard Plugge is hopeful Tom Dumoulin will return to the fold. The Dutch star abruptly walked away from the WorldTour during the team’s pre-season camp, and has not yet revealed his plans. Plugge said in an interview on Dutch television the team is optimistic Dumoulin will return to racing.

“I think it’s only a break, and we’ll see him return to cycling,” Plugge told Zesdaagse TV. “Tom needs a bit of time off to make a decision, but I think it will turn out OK. I have faith in it. We stay in touch a bit. Tom is doing it right, he’s on vacation now, and enjoying himself. We’ve given him a lot of space. If he calls tomorrow, and says he wants to return, he’d need a few weeks of training, but the door is always open for him.”

Source: https://www.velonews.com/news/road/vn-news-ticker-mark-cavendish-for-le-samyn-romain-bardet-to-make-team-dsm-debut-at-omloop-het-nieuwsblad/

 

[Red Rick]

Not writing him off for the Tour is a stupid quote if you wanna give him space.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Not writing him off for the Tour is a stupid quote if you wanna give him space.

Rabofail, Rabofail never changes.

 

[Leinster]

Not writing him off for the Tour is a stupid quote if you wanna give him space.

Nah. If anything it’d be harder on him if they went “ok, Tom’s out for the Tour, George Bennett’s in, done.” Especially if he ends up back on the bike in April/May. There’s no point in them making a decision until they need to make a decision.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Nah. If anything it’d be harder on him if they went “ok, Tom’s out for the Tour, George Bennett’s in, done.” Especially if he ends up back on the bike in April/May. There’s no point in them making a decision until they need to make a decision.

I disagree. Now it's like they're not even taking his issues seriously. Like they assume it'll blow over. I find it rather patronizing actually.
They could easily wait with filling in the last spots in the team. Every year there are riders swapped out only weeks before the TDF for a variety of reasons. It's not as if Foss, Tolhoek or Bennett don't know they are lower in the pecking order than Dumoulin, should he decide to come back and get in shape in time.

 

[Rackham]

Not writing him off for the Tour is a stupid quote if you wanna give him space.

As they're the ones who were paying his wages, they've probably bent over backwards as far as they can & I won't presume anything with regards to how he's treated. I think the truth of the matter is we (i.e. on the outside) have no idea what happened between Jumbo & Dumoulin. All we have to judge are various interviews & those "inside Jumbo" documentaries about the Tour & Vuelta last year (which involved a few Dumoulin meltdowns).

And he went from speaking about his season plans on the Friday at their training camp, to quitting on the Saturday morning. It's not exactly standard stuff. Personally speaking I think he's done & someone else to will fill his spot in the Tour.