Tom Dumoulin relives the last years of his career, not without some criticism of the management of some moments by his former team, the Visma | Lease a Bike (at the time Jumbo-Visma). The class of ’90 arrived in the Dutch battleship in 2020, after achieving the most important successes of his career with the Team Sunweb but also following the bad fall at the 2019 Giro d’Italia, which forced him into a long recovery phase. Over the years with the new team, the winner of the Giro d’Italia 2017 he never particularly shone, putting himself at the service of Primoz Roglic In the Tour de France 2020 faded only in the final time trial and collecting only one success, the 2021 national time trial championship. Then, in 2022, the choice to leave professional cycling, not without some thoughts on what the second part of his career could have been if he had made different choices.
In an interview with From Pacerthe 35-year-old recounted the difficulties of his final years: “Now I can look back on that difficult period with gratitude because it brought a lot to me too. I didn’t feel happy at all for a few years. I wanted to be a runner somewhere and I wasn’t ready to stop yet, but my whole body was struggling. I had had some serious injuries, which meant I was constantly in difficulty. I felt bad, because I also felt the pressure at Jumbo-Visma. I trained and ran badly, doing everything I could to get back.”
In the interview, Tom Dumoulin he also reflected on the documentary Netflix on Jumbo-Visma’s Tour de France 2020, in which he sometimes appears a little detached from the team spirit: “I haven’t seen that documentary of the Tour de France 2020 yet. I don’t want to look back at myself during a time when I was going through a really difficult time. I didn’t feel protected by my team. As far as I’m concerned, that documentary should never have been released in the Netherlands like that.”
Finally, the Dutchman confesses his feelings in his last years as a professional: “I almost felt like a product, not a human being with feelings. With today’s awareness, my career would have lasted longer. At the same time, however, I am proud to look back on my career. I don’t regret any choice I’ve made: I have no regrets and I don’t blame anyone for anything. I think the best moments were my victories. At a certain point I was at a crossroads. I noticed that I wasn’t meeting expectations and had to take a step back as a runner. I was asked if I wanted to race like Robert Gesink and Tony Martin did in the last years of their careerswhen they became wingmen for the leaders. But I never saw it as a possibility for me.” Thus came the decision to retire, at just 32 years old.
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