• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

Teams & Riders Tom Dumoulin discussion thread

Page 86 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
I want to put what Red Rick said in the proper respective. He also said he has learned to deal with it and it doesn't hinder him in any way during races. The Worlds is a good example of that. There was a big piece in the Wielerrevue (dutch cycling magazine) where he says that.

So really it is kinda overstating it. Yeah he had problems dealing with the attention, but that was in the streets, like random people wanting a photo and ***. Same stuff Max Verstappen struggled with. It doesn't mean anything for his sportive performances. So put it in the right perspective
 
Re: Re:

Tonton said:
Escarabajo said:
Ok. Dumoulin won the Giro last year. But for Froome not going to the Tour was a given that Dumoulin had a walk in the park to win the Tour?

I don't think so. Am I missing something or fans are giving him too much credit at this time?
Possibly. Having said that, if it wasn't for poopgate, his Giro win would have been much more impressive, larger time gaps on two big champions like Quintana and particularly Nibali.

Not racing Le Tour would be a mistake IMO. '18 seems like a transition year like '87-'88 or '11, too big of an opportunity to pass on, I think. Sunweb can TTT with the bests, mountains-wise Le Tour '18 is not too scary, the ITT on stage 20...go Cuddles ;) !
We need to get over poop gate lost time. It is part of the race. Get over it. Countless of friends at engineering school back in the days used to get very nervous in the tests and forget things that they knew and prepared for. Therefore did not get the grade that expected to. It is part of the game.
 
Re: Re:

Escarabajo said:
Tonton said:
Escarabajo said:
Ok. Dumoulin won the Giro last year. But for Froome not going to the Tour was a given that Dumoulin had a walk in the park to win the Tour?

I don't think so. Am I missing something or fans are giving him too much credit at this time?
Possibly. Having said that, if it wasn't for poopgate, his Giro win would have been much more impressive, larger time gaps on two big champions like Quintana and particularly Nibali.

Not racing Le Tour would be a mistake IMO. '18 seems like a transition year like '87-'88 or '11, too big of an opportunity to pass on, I think. Sunweb can TTT with the bests, mountains-wise Le Tour '18 is not too scary, the ITT on stage 20...go Cuddles ;) !
We need to get over poop gate lost time. It is part of the race. Get over it. Countless of friends at engineering school back in the days used to get very nervous in the tests and forget things that they knew and prepared for. Therefore did not get the grade that expected to. It is part of the game.

Why would it be caused by nerves ? From what I remember, his team said he overdid the gels and upset his stomach.
 
Dec 31, 2017
152
1
0
Visit site
I still think that he riding the giro is a wasteful oppurtunity to win the biggest GT of them all-The Tour. Although the few ITT he has after all the best TTT team in the world and he could made also a very decent position in the cobble stage, Why not go for the Tour?
 
Re: Re:

movingtarget said:
Escarabajo said:
Tonton said:
Escarabajo said:
Ok. Dumoulin won the Giro last year. But for Froome not going to the Tour was a given that Dumoulin had a walk in the park to win the Tour?

I don't think so. Am I missing something or fans are giving him too much credit at this time?
Possibly. Having said that, if it wasn't for poopgate, his Giro win would have been much more impressive, larger time gaps on two big champions like Quintana and particularly Nibali.

Not racing Le Tour would be a mistake IMO. '18 seems like a transition year like '87-'88 or '11, too big of an opportunity to pass on, I think. Sunweb can TTT with the bests, mountains-wise Le Tour '18 is not too scary, the ITT on stage 20...go Cuddles ;) !
We need to get over poop gate lost time. It is part of the race. Get over it. Countless of friends at engineering school back in the days used to get very nervous in the tests and forget things that they knew and prepared for. Therefore did not get the grade that expected to. It is part of the game.

Why would it be caused by nerves ? From what I remember, his team said he overdid the gels and upset his stomach.
Maybe you answered your question.
 
Re: Re:

[/quote] Possibly. Having said that, if it wasn't for poopgate, his Giro win would have been ((((much more impressive)))), larger time gaps on two big champions like Quintana and particularly Nibali. [/quote]

Actually, poop-gate made it more impressive & dramatic, given the fact that Tom had to fight really hard all the way to the very last stage to win it. :)
 
Hmm from what I've seen at the sunweb presentation video's he seems to have a Giro / Tour double at the back of his mind.

The giro is absolutely the main goal, but he says after that he definately has the Tour as option, and not just for stage wins, but for GC. A lot will depend on how the Giro goes ofcourse
 
Dekker_Tifosi said:
Hmm from what I've seen at the sunweb presentation video's he seems to have a Giro / Tour double at the back of his mind.

The giro is absolutely the main goal, but he says after that he definately has the Tour as option, and not just for stage wins, but for GC. A lot will depend on how the Giro goes ofcourse
It would be hilarious if after all the years of talking about the double by Contador, Quintana and now Froome, Dumoulin ends up being the one who really pulls it off :D
 
Aug 6, 2015
4,139
2
0
Visit site
Gigs_98 said:
Dekker_Tifosi said:
Hmm from what I've seen at the sunweb presentation video's he seems to have a Giro / Tour double at the back of his mind.

The giro is absolutely the main goal, but he says after that he definately has the Tour as option, and not just for stage wins, but for GC. A lot will depend on how the Giro goes ofcourse
It would be hilarious if after all the years of talking about the double by Contador, Quintana and now Froome, Dumoulin ends up being the one who really pulls it off :D
lol... only 2009 contador could do it IF LA and all astana worked for him
 
Giro/Vuelta makes more sense for Dumoulin. Aru and Landa will have to be very good in the mountains to have any hope. The Chaves TT gives him little hope even if he climbs well. I would prefer to see Froome there simply to make the race more interesting but something tells me it's not going to happen.
 
Re:

Valv.Piti said:
I think the Tour route is fine for Tom, I don't really understand it. But then again he probably knows what suits him a bit more than I do. The only thing I can point at in the Tour is the Alps which are super hard this year.

Plus he will be up against Froome maybe, Aru and Landa in the mountains at the Giro, then you add the TT kms and try to see it from both sides. I think the mountain time losses in the Giro have the potential to be higher than last year but then you factor in Aru and Landa in the TT. If they have an off day in the TT, Dumoulin could make big time because he doesn't have off days in that form of racing. There is also some chance Landa could be dropping Froome in the mountains as well which could work out better for Dumoulin if they both have to chase. Aru could be the interesting performance especially if he manages to stick with Landa on some of the climbs.
 
Re:

Valv.Piti said:
I think the Tour route is fine for Tom, I don't really understand it. But then again he probably knows what suits him a bit more than I do. The only thing I can point at in the Tour is the Alps which are super hard this year.
RR translates a bit wrong as well. He simply likes the Giro more, not only in route, but also the atmosphere, the feeling, etc

HelloDolly said:
Landa is not riding the Giro ?
No. Landa is going to the Tour as co-leader
 
Re: Re:

Dekker_Tifosi said:
Valv.Piti said:
I think the Tour route is fine for Tom, I don't really understand it. But then again he probably knows what suits him a bit more than I do. The only thing I can point at in the Tour is the Alps which are super hard this year.
RR translates a bit wrong as well. He simply likes the Giro more, not only in route, but also the atmosphere, the feeling, etc

HelloDolly said:
Landa is not riding the Giro ?
No. Landa is going to the Tour as co-leader
Yeah, I was lazy translating that
 
Re: Re:

Dekker_Tifosi said:
Valv.Piti said:
I think the Tour route is fine for Tom, I don't really understand it. But then again he probably knows what suits him a bit more than I do. The only thing I can point at in the Tour is the Alps which are super hard this year.
RR translates a bit wrong as well. He simply likes the Giro more, not only in route, but also the atmosphere, the feeling, etc

HelloDolly said:
Landa is not riding the Giro ?
No. Landa is going to the Tour as co-leader

Aru will be happy then especially if Froome doesn't show up at the Giro either.
 
“In my eyes a lot of riders have made the mistake in the past by focusing on both the Giro and the Tour from the start of the season,” Dumoulin told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

“As a result, they were probably already in the Giro with the classification in the Tour in mind. That is a mindset that does not work. I think you should focus completely on the Giro and only then have to look further.”

I understand his point about not thinking about the Tour while riding the Giro, but surely the early season preparation for the double has to be different from that for the Giro alone? If he prepares as if only riding the Giro, I don’t see how he’s going to be at his best for the Tour.

And what if Froome doesn’t ride the Giro, and Dumoulin builds up a big lead late in the race. Isn’t there something to be said for not going all out to add to the lead, if he can still win comfortably? I guess the question is whether easing up a little at that point—which can be risky in terms of mindset, as he says—really can have a significant effect on riding the Tour later. Maybe the possible benefits aren’t enough to be worth changing one’s approach. But what we know is that Contador dominated the Giro in 2011, and he clearly didn't have enough left for the Tour.
 
I think Dumoulin is fully focused on the Giro and defending his title.

Depending on how the Giro has been and how he feeling afterwards. They will make a final decision about the Tour and if going there to go for GC. Maybe he wont go to the Tour at all and go the Vuelta instead.

It all really depends what happens at the Giro though and how much energy is spent.
 
Merckx index said:
“In my eyes a lot of riders have made the mistake in the past by focusing on both the Giro and the Tour from the start of the season,” Dumoulin told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

“As a result, they were probably already in the Giro with the classification in the Tour in mind. That is a mindset that does not work. I think you should focus completely on the Giro and only then have to look further.”

I understand his point about not thinking about the Tour while riding the Giro, but surely the early season preparation for the double has to be different from that for the Giro alone? If he prepares as if only riding the Giro, I don’t see how he’s going to be at his best for the Tour.

And what if Froome doesn’t ride the Giro, and Dumoulin builds up a big lead late in the race. Isn’t there something to be said for not going all out to add to the lead, if he can still win comfortably? I guess the question is whether easing up a little at that point—which can be risky in terms of mindset, as he says—really can have a significant effect on riding the Tour later. Maybe the possible benefits aren’t enough to be worth changing one’s approach. But what we know is that Contador dominated the Giro in 2011, and he clearly didn't have enough left for the Tour.
I don't think there's too much difference between Giro-Tour prep and Giro only prep, except for probably less heavy racing beforehand. However, Dumoulin already had a pretty light schedule ahead of the Giro this year. My best guess that Quintana was too good in the Tirreno already and managing form before the Giro became akward. Nibali did win TA before winning the Giro in 2013, but he wasn't preparing a double and wasn't great apart from the a crazy, rainy and hilly stage. Contador didn't race very much in 2011 and probably decompressed a little after winning Catalunya before returning to racing in FW where he was notably worse than in 2010.

Dumoulin's inspiration to maybe go to the Tour after the Giro is Mikel Landa, and I think he's a bad example. Landa crashed heavily in the Giro and then spent a few stages doing little and recover, which I think delays the form curve a little bit. I think he came out of the Giro with less fatigue or at least less need to decompress.

Lastly, I dont think Dumoulin can be compared to the likes of Contador, Quintana or Froome in double potential. Dumoulin has showed inconsistency in the last week of his first target GT, and typically his performances in Suisse after his Giro were far worse than other Giro riders that go there to get some more results.

Lastly, Contador in 2011 isn't comparable to this situation. That Giro was off the charts hard, and Contador was wasting energy almost everywhere except for the stage over the Finestre. He then crashed multiple times in the Tour. I still think he could have won it without losing that time on day 1 and without those crashes.

The 2018 Giro will be a lot easier. There will be more time between the races so scheduling will be different. But of all the riders who can be considered a favorite for the Giro or Tour, I think Dumoulin is the least likely to accomplish the double unless both routes suit him crazily.
 

TRENDING THREADS