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Teams & Riders Tom Dumoulin discussion thread

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Kruijswijk seems to be a different rider ever since he had Covid-19!

Funnily after all that talk of him being the new Indurain or Ulrich, Dumoulin simply ends up being the new Erik Breukink! Only with a better ending than in 88,89 or 90.

Jumbo doesn't give a *** about the Giro d'Italia. Rabobank never did either. It was actually Breukink who favors the Giro d'Italia! Hence why they suddenly sent Menchov & Co there.
Remember when Roglic did Giro/Vuelta in 2019?

Roglic demanded full leadership, so Jumbo opted to not win the Tour
 
Kruijswijk seems to be a different rider ever since he had Covid-19!

Funnily after all that talk of him being the new Indurain or Ulrich, Dumoulin simply ends up being the new Erik Breukink! Only with a better ending than in 88,89 or 90.

Jumbo doesn't give a *** about the Giro d'Italia. Rabobank never did either. It was actually Breukink who favors the Giro d'Italia! Hence why they suddenly sent Menchov & Co there.
A few years ago it was also a bit different because Bianchi wanted them to send a decent team to the Giro.
 
I don't see it happening. There are little riders who return to top level after a struggle. You can have 1 bad year, or 2 and return. But after 3/4 bad years it usually becomes a downward spiral.

You need to continued experience of high level racing to perform at that level. Or you have to have insane natural talent. Dumoulin has natural talent as time trialist so he hasn't lost that. But everything he gained with experience, his climbing, his GC riding, heck even his good classic performances (4th worlds for instance), is gone. He needs to regain all that hardness and experience and at this age that isn't likely.

Look at how long Froome has been struggling to return and it isn't happening with him either. Aru had the same struggles and retired. It's not a new story.
 
Seems like a mental thing for him like it did for Kittel and maybe Pinot as well although he has had physical issues as well. Rohan Dennis managed to re-nvent himself after all of the GC talk. Instead of a top 10 top 20 GC rider he changed to a quality domestique and still does well in the TTs. Richie Porte could have taken the same route but as a better climber Porte was always going to aim high as a GC rider and he finally got his podium but he could have just as easily become a stage hunter on mountain stages and done just as well.
 
He seemed happy and motivated, so i doubt it's a mental thing. He also didn't seem out of shape (as much as one can tell), and some reporters said he looked ''sharp''. I believed/hoped he would be back to his 2018 level after his sabbatical, but now i fear we might not see that version of Dumoulin ever again. Not sure what else to make of it. Could it otherwise have been just a ''bad day''? If that's the case, he should go in a break (i think most contenders don't believe he's a threat anymore) that could hurl him back into GC contention.
 
He seemed happy and motivated, so i doubt it's a mental thing. He also didn't seem out of shape (as much as one can tell), and some reporters said he looked ''sharp''. I believed/hoped he would be back to his 2018 level after his sabbatical, but now i fear we might not see that version of Dumoulin ever again. Not sure what else to make of it. Could it otherwise have been just a ''bad day''? If that's the case, he should go in a break (i think most contenders don't believe he's a threat anymore) that could hurl him back into GC contention.
Yeah, Safebet has also said that he looked super lean when he saw him in Budapest a few days ago.
 
He seemed happy and motivated, so i doubt it's a mental thing. He also didn't seem out of shape (as much as one can tell), and some reporters said he looked ''sharp''. I believed/hoped he would be back to his 2018 level after his sabbatical, but now i fear we might not see that version of Dumoulin ever again. Not sure what else to make of it. Could it otherwise have been just a ''bad day''? If that's the case, he should go in a break (i think most contenders don't believe he's a threat anymore) that could hurl him back into GC contention.
Well today he says he doesnt feel good and needs a few days (!) to recover. I think he simply lacks race hardness. He raced so little and they thought you can fix everything by altitude camps. But if you add it over the years.... the hardness is just not there, and that comes to the fore in races like these.

I think he needs to finish the Giro and use it as a training. Then instead of training camps just try to race as much as possible without destroying himself. And try again next season.
 
Well today he says he doesnt feel good and needs a few days (!) to recover. I think he simply lacks race hardness. He raced so little and they thought you can fix everything by altitude camps. But if you add it over the years.... the hardness is just not there, and that comes to the fore in races like these.

I think he needs to finish the Giro and use it as a training. Then instead of training camps just try to race as much as possible without destroying himself. And try again next season.
that would better outcome... but imho there is 70% chance he'll abandon this giro
 
Well today he says he doesnt feel good and needs a few days (!) to recover. I think he simply lacks race hardness. He raced so little and they thought you can fix everything by altitude camps. But if you add it over the years.... the hardness is just not there, and that comes to the fore in races like these.

I think he needs to finish the Giro and use it as a training. Then instead of training camps just try to race as much as possible without destroying himself. And try again next season.
Then he should already show big improvements by the time the Vuelta comes around and i think he should try again there. If things haven't noticeably improved by then, i doubt it's explained simply by a lack of race days, and he might not want to work entire winter towards riding for GC again. Maybe he'd be happier finishing his career as a TT-expert.
 
Yes that is also entirely possible.

Don't forget the people he was fighting for GC wins are all struggling nowadays...
Zakarin? Retired
Aru? Retired
Nibali? old and regressed
Froome? Well he is doing even worse than Dumoulin
Thomas? Regressed
Quintana? Regressed
Pinot? Struggling

The list is pretty extensive. In the time he was struggling with himself and everything else there was a switch of the guard.
 
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