Jumbo-Visma have quietly confirmed the signing of Tom Dumoulin, after the Dutch star ended his contract with Sunweb.
Dumoulin will join Jumbo-Visma after an eight-year spell with his old team, saying he wanted to ride in a new environment to “refresh.”
Dutch WorldTour team Jumbo quietly announced Dumoulin’s signing in a video posted on social media on Monday morning (August 19), the same morning Sunweb confirmed that the 28-year-old would be departing two years before the end of his contract.
Dumoulin said: “As a rider you always search for the highest level achievable and you constantly ask yourself whether you are still in the right place, what is the best team for you and where the best options and opportunities are.
“There has always been interest from other teams, that’s normal, but the facilities here have always made me not to speak with other teams. After the disappointment of missing the Tour and finding myself sitting at home, I started to consider that a new environment could be refreshing. That’s why I decided to focus on the interest of some teams. There were great offers and this phase of my career felt like the right time to take it.”
We have a dream. So from now on we don’t fight against each other, but with each other. Together. For the same dream. 💛🖤#samenwinnen pic.twitter.com/anA4OwTgjT
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) August 19, 2019
Dumoulin had has had a blighted 2019 season, having crashed out of the Giro d’Italia in the first week and struggling with a persisting knee injury that kept him out of the Tour de France and will also force him to skip the Vuelta a España.
Leaving Sunweb is a major decision for Dumoulin, who started his career with the team, then Argos-Shimano, and has remained with the outfit as it transformed into Sunweb.
He won the Giro d’Italia in 2017, the time trial World Championships in 2018 and stages of all three Grand Tours.
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Jumbo-Visma has been knocking on the door of Grand Tour success in recent seasons, putting riders on the podium of both the Giro and the Tour this season.
Dumoulin will be joining a team that has invested heavily in its three-week ambitions, joining general classification contenders Steven Kruijswijk and Primož Roglič.
