‘I came with the goal of winning the Tour, but that disappeared’ - Tom Dumoulin on sacrificing his chances for the team
The Jumbo-Visma rider had been high on GC until the Pyrenees
Tom Dumoulin says he went into the Tour de France 2020 with the goal of winning the yellow jersey, but that dream disappeared in the Pyrenees.
The Jumbo-Visma rider had put himself into the top-10 in the opening week and was just 13 seconds outside of the race lead as the race went into the first real mountains on stage eight.
But on the road to Loudenvielle, Dumoulin felt he wasn’t strong enough to stay with the leaders and instead sacrificed himself to ride for Primož Roglič.
Speaking on the first rest day of the Tour Dumoulin, winner of the 2017 Giro d’Italia, said: “For myself I would have liked more of course. I came here with the goal to win the Tour de France with the team and also with the idea of me being the one doing it.
“That disappeared over the last weekend. Luckily Primož is on a great level and is in the yellow jersey now so I think he’s the best of the race right now and we hope to defend it until Paris.”
Dumoulin has slipped back to 14th overall as the race heads into the second week, 3-22 off the lead, while Roglič leads by 21 seconds over Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).
Jumbo-Visma have been the dominant team in this year’s Tour, winning three stages so far with Roglič and Wout van Aert.
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While the Dutch squad had planned to race for both Dumoulin and Roglič, they were forced to improvise when mountain domestique Sepp Kuss lost touch on stage eight.
Then on the Col de Peyresourde, Dumoulin radioed in to tell his team-mates he wasn’t feeling good and that he’d ride for Roglič.
After putting in his turn, Dumoulin lost two minutes on the stage and then lost more time the following day.
The 29-year-old said: “For me personally I would like to have better legs and it didn’t happen. What you hope and what happens, that’s two different things.”
>>> Adam Yates ‘had some kind of parasite’ just before the Tour de France 2020
Dumoulin said he hasn’t been feeling his best in the first week, but he hopes to find his form in the final third of the race.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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