Tom Dumoulin is apparently “seriously considering” leaving Sunweb at the end of the season, according to reports.
The Dutchman is said to be unhappy with how he has been managed following a disastrous first half of 2019, having crashed out of the Giro d’Italia and his subsequent injury making him miss out on the Tour de France.
This is according to Italian newspaper Tuttobici, who say that the team’s management of Dumoulin following the crash has put a strain on relations and has resulted in the 2017 Giro d’Italia winner wanting out.
After abandoning this year’s Giro on stage five, Dumoulin had surgery to remove a piece of gravel that had been irritating his knee before turning his car around en route an altitude training camp, with the 28-year-old announcing he would be missing the 2019 Tour de France a few days later.
However, leaving the team will be easier said than done as Dumoulin is signed to Sunweb until 2021, but he is apparently determined and seriously considering his future, with some of the biggest teams in the sport alerted to the Dutchman’s potential availability and considering a move for him.
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Sunweb had apparently told the rest of their roster to forget about their personal ambitions for the 2019 season and focus solely on helping Tom Dumoulin to victory at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
With Dumoulin’s tilts at both titles now lying in tatters, Michael Matthews said he has been left “totally confused” as he heads off to Brussels for the start of the Tour on July 6.
The Australian had trained to be as helpful as possible in the mountains as well as improving his time trialling but will go to the Tour having done little sprint training despite admitting a number of stages suit him.
In other transfer news, Tuttobici report that John Degenkolb is apparently set to leave Trek-Segafredo at the end of the season, with Lotto-Soudal showing strong interest in helping the German to strengthen his performances in the Classics. This is because Tiesj Benoot could apparently leave, with Sunweb a potential destination for the Belgian.
