The rematch with Froome is on
Team Sunweb have announced that Tom Dumoulin will target the general classification at the Tour de France, six weeks after finishing in second place behind Chris Froome at the Giro d’Italia.
Dumoulin had been expected to be named in Sunweb’s Tour squad, but there was uncertainty over whether he would ride to pick up stage wins rather than target the yellow jersey, as he did when he last rode both races in the same year in 2016.
However as he was named in Team Sunweb’s list of 12 possible riders to take to the Tour, Dumoulin said that he was looking forward to seeing how he go on riding two Grand Tours for the GC back-to-back.
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“I am very proud of what we’ve already achieved at the Giro and I consider any result that we can take at the Tour de France a bonus for this season,” Dumoulin said.
“My season so far has been focused on the Giro and the team purposely waited to the make the decision about the Tour until after the Giro had finished. After a good Giro we’ve chosen to go to the Tour with a GC focus, to learn without a specific result in mind.
“Doing two consecutive Grand Tours for a GC will be a new experience for me and the team, and will give us some valuable insights for the future.”
As well as Dumoulin, domestiques Roy Curvers, Chad Haga, and Laurens Ten Dam have all been named in Sunweb’s Tour long list having ridden the Giro, with the rest of the list being made up of Søren Kragh Andersen, Nikias Arndt, Phil Bauhaus, Simon Geschke, Wilco Kelderman, Michael Matthews, Mike Teunissen, Edward Theuns.
Team Sunweb enjoyed an excellent Tour de France in 2017 as they picked up four stage wins courtesy of Matthews and Warren Barguil, with Barguil also picking up the mountains jersey.
However with Barguil having moved to Fortuneo-Samsic over the winter, the team has now turned to Dumoulin to fulfil their GC ambitions.
The race gets underway on July 7, with Dumoulin likely to face challenges from the likes of Richie Porte, Vincenzo Nibali, Nairo Quintana, and of course Chris Froome who is aiming to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to complete the Giro/Tour double.