Tom Dumoulin reveals illness is intestinal parasites

Tom Dumoulin has revealed the illness that has delayed the start of his 2020 season is intestinal parasites.

The Dutch Grand Tour star was looking to start the new season with a bang as he races in Jumbo-Visma colours for the first time, but his run of bad luck has continued.

Dumoulin was forced to pull out of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana on the eve of the race due to illness, later announcing that he would also be skipping Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo.

In his latest update on Instagram, Dumoulin said he is now taking medication after discovering he has intestinal parasites but he is already back to training.

The 29-year-old said: “As you all know, I had not been feeling well recently.

“Last week we found parasites in my gut and since then I started medication.

“I am feeling much better as I have had good training sessions today and over the weekend. I’m looking forward to planning my season start and next goals very soon. I’ll keep you posted.”

Dumoulin had a tough 2019 season, suffering a nasty knee injury in the opening week of the Giro d’Italia which took him out of the rest of the season.

After a brief return at the Critérium du Dauphiné, he has been absent from the peloton to give himself a chance to recover.

During his recovery, Dumoulin announced he would be leaving Sunweb after seven years to join Dutch team Jumbo-Visma.

He is now expected to make his debut for Jumbo at the Tour of the Basque Country in April.

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Dumoulin is building his season around the Tour de France, where he is expected to fight for the yellow jersey alongside his new team-mates Primož Roglič and Steven Kruijswijk.