Tom Dumoulin looks set to follow Chris Froome and take part in the Tour de France just six weeks after finishing second behind the Brit at the Giro d'Italia.
No announcement has yet been made by Team Sunweb, but according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Dumoulin will be named as part of the team's Tour de France pre-selection later this week.
Dumoulin last competed in the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year in 2016, when he won one stage at the Giro and two stages at the Tour before abandoning both races.
In 2017, the year he won the Giro d'Italia, he followed up the Italian Grand Tour by racing the Hammer Series, Tour de Suisse and National Championships before taking a mid-season break ahead of a successful assault on the World Championships.
Dumoulin raced one stage of the Hammer Series event in his home region of Limburg on Friday, but says that he will now be taking a short break to rest ahead of his likely participation in the Tour de France.
Watch: Tour de France 2018 route guide
After my victory in the Giro d'Italia last year, I kept going on adrenaline," Dumoulin said after competing in the Hammer Series event. "Then two weeks later the fatigue hit me during the Tour de Suisse. But now I notice that I am already more tired than last year."
Team Sunweb are set to officially announce their Tour de France pre-selection later this week, with the management working with Dumoulin to decide his schedule ahead of July, and also to decide whether he should aim to challenge for the general classification or chase stage wins like he did in 2016.
Aside from Dumoulin, Froome is the only general classification rider who is set to ride both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in 2018.
Having won the Giro, the Team Sky rider is aiming to become the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in the same year, and also to match Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain on a record five Tour wins.
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