Tom Dumoulin slams 'boring' long Tour de France stages
TV viewers will not continue to watch long, uneventful stages, Tom Dumoulin says
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Tom Dumoulin has criticised the length of the Tour de France’s transition stages, saying that the peloton’s saunter to the finish will make TV viewers turn off.
Stage three, four and five of this year’s Tour are all in excess of 200km as the peloton head south from Normandy towards the Pyrenees in the space of four days.
Although Dumoulin understands that shorter stages would mean longer bus transfers – itself a subject that riders often complain about – he doesn’t see the logic in marathon, unexciting stages.
>>> Marcel Kittel back to winning ways on stage four of the Tour de France
“It’s not really necessary that we do these kind of stages any more. I don’t see the real point,” the Giant-Alpecin rider told Cycling Weekly.
“It makes us more tired. That’s actually the only thing it does. You get a more exciting race [when the route is shorter]. You see on stage three, that is not cycling anymore.
“We have to see what the audience like. We’re a bit subjective: we all love cycling and have grown up with cycling. If we are at home and we see a stage like this, it’s nice to watch cycling on TV but for 95 percent of the spectators it’s just boring.
>>> Are Tour de France sprints getting more dangerous?
“All my friends from a young age who don’t really know cycling and only watch it because I am here, they zap to another channel. That’s what happens [with long stages] and I don’t think that is a good thing.”
Lotto-Soudal’s Greg Henderson agreed, and questioned why Tour organisers ASO insist on lengthy flat stages when the outcome is always the same, regardless of the distance covered.
“If it was a 160km stage race it would still be the same result,” the New Zealander said.
“One or two stages of that length in the whole Tour are fine but you just don’t need three or four in a row.
“But it could be worse: it could be 240km in the mountains which would be an eight-hour day for the gruppeto. We have to get to the bottom of France somehow.”
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.
Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
-
-
'Don't use the bike': OPEN recalls all of its Campagnolo Ekar-equipped bikes and framesets
In Cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, OPEN Cycle has sent out a recall for all its Campagnolo Ekar-equipped gravel and road bikes.
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
Tour of Flanders 2023: Five men and five women to watch on Sunday
Taking a closer look at the favourites ahead of this year's Ronde van Vlaanderen
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Changing of the guard: Seven top cyclists who have retired in 2022
Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde and Tom Dumoulin have all called time on their careers this year
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Celebrating the career of Tom Dumoulin: our three favourite moments
The former Giro d’Italia winner announced his immediate retirement earlier this week
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Tom Dumoulin ends career with immediate effect
Dutch former Giro d’Italia winner brings forward retirement from professional cycling
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
'Cycling required my blood, sweat and tears at times, but mostly it was beautiful' — Tom Dumoulin to retire at end of 2022 season
Tom Dumoulin has announced that he will retire this year, and take a take "new and unknown path" from next year
By Adam Becket • Published
-
'I’ve struggled with having a whole crew revolve around me in the past': Tom Dumoulin happy to share Jumbo-Visma's Giro d'Italia leadership
The Dutchman makes his return to the race he won in 2017
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Tom Dumoulin confirms he will ride for the overall at a Grand Tour in 2022
The former time trial world champion hasn't had a serious go at a Grand Tour since the 2018 Tour de France
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Tom Dumoulin doesn't rule out Grand Tour return in 2022
Dutchman will decide on his season at the Jumbo-Visma training camp in mid-December
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Tom Dumoulin to Team BikeExchange for 2022?
L'Equipe reports Giant bikes could be instrumental in taking Dutch star from Jumbo-Visma
By Richard Windsor • Last updated