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Tom Dumoulin decided to hit the pause button on his racing career and left Jumbo-Visma training camp with immediate effect. The news broke on Saturday with Jumbo-Visma confirming that the Dutchman will not be racing at the moment.
Dumoulin has officially taken unpaid leave as he reflects on his future and whether or not he wants to return to sport. The team announced on Friday that Dumoulin would be given a leading role in the Tour de France alongside Primož Roglič, but that now seems to be a major doubt after today’s shock news.
“I made the decision yesterday. And the team is supporting me in this, and it feels really good. It’s really like a hundred kilogram backpack slipped off my shoulders. I immediately woke up. happy, “Dumoulin said in a statement. published by his team.
“It feels so good that I finally made the decision to take time for myself. That says enough. I have felt for a long time that it is very difficult for me to know how to find my way as Tom. Dumoulin the cyclist – with the pressure that goes with it, with the expectations of the different parties.
“I just want to do great for a lot of people. I want the team to be happy with me. I want the sponsors to be happy. I want my wife and family to be happy. And so I want to do well for everything. the world, but because of that I’ve kinda forgotten myself over the past year. What do I want? Do I still want to be a pilot. And how? ”he added.
The winner of the Giro d’Italia 2017 joined Jumbo-Visma at the start of 2020 after a last difficult year at Team Sunweb. He returned from a serious knee injury that ruined his 2019 campaign and backed Roglič to second place overall in last year’s Tour de France. The 30-year-old finished seventh overall in Paris, and although he retired from Vuelta a España later in the season, it looked like he was starting to regain some of his best form.
Last week, the Dutchman told Wielerflits that he is also eyeing the cobblestone classics for the first time and is delighted to enter the new season with a new set of goals.
“For this spring, we have decided to change course. We are going to ride on the cobblestones, it will be fun, ”he told the Dutch publication.
“I think spring is always a great time. Everyone is eager, including me, to start over. I have to admit that in terms of results this has never been my best time. This will be my tenth year as a professional cyclist and I have never really shone in the spring. I hope and believe that every year it will work. I start again fully. “
However, he also revealed he was set to end his racing career after last year’s Tour de France.
“I had a terrible time after my knee injury. Then on top of that, there were the intestinal complaints in the spring, then corona. I can tell I was closer to quitting than continuing.
News of his departure from the team’s training camp leaves Jumbo-Visma with a number of major questions, including what is going on with their Tour team given that just 24 hours ago, Dumoulin received a co-leadership role within the team.
The team’s first priority, naturally, is now based on Dumoulin’s well-being as a person rather than his athletic achievements, but it will undoubtedly come as a shock to the rest of his teammates.
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