Giro d'Italia route an 'attractive proposition' for Tom Dumoulin

The possibility of Tom Dumoulin lining up in Bologna on May 11 for another Giro d'Italia may still be a possibility, after Wednesday's route announcement.

It was believed that Dumoulin would have the sole target of the Tour de France next year, however that may not be the case according to Team Sunweb sports director Luke Roberts.

"It's interesting to now have both parcours on paper and to analyse them. With the more time trial kilometres at the Giro makes it quite attractive proposition to Tom."

"In the near future we will start to analyse that and look at both parcours."

Doubts arose from Dumoulin after the Tour de France route was announced last week, where the 2018 Tour de France and Giro d'Italia runner up revealed this year's Tour route was 'not ideal' for his style.

But Roberts - speaking to Cycling Weekly from a team training camp in the Netherlands - believes Dumoulin has shown the ability to win a Grand Tour no matter the course,

"Tom has ridden the time trial as his strength but has shown he can climb really well," Roberts said, "and I think he is capable of winning a Grand Tour even with less time trial kilometres."

>>> Giro d'Italia 2019 route: Seven summit finishes and three individual time trials in all-Italian route

Despite the increase in time trialling kilometres this year in the Giro, there are still down compared to recent times. Despite being aware that gaining small time gaps against the clock are beneficial in Dumoulin's assault on Grand Tour glory, remaining consistent throughout the three weeks is to victory.

"What a lot of people know is a bad day can often be when most of the time is lost. Obviously there are small differences among the climbers, time trials and team time trials."

"But to be consistent throughout a grand tour is a big key to be able to challenge for the victory. That’s one of Tom’s strengths and makes him a contender for victory in these races."