Tom Dumoulin claimed his fourth Dutch National Time Trial Championship title within the week and is looking rejuvenated after missing some time away from bike racing. With the Olympics in sight, the Jumbo-Visma frontman is finding his form and stride at the best possible time, but a few months ago it was not looking so. Fans can once again feel hope, especially the French mass, and a Bet365 coupon could not be handier than now.
In January, the Jumbo-Visma rider pulled out of training camp with his team, citing fatigue and mental drain. For such an “injury”, the difficulty lies in determining when the athlete can feel refueled and recharged. It can easily devolve to an indefinite layoff. However, with the Olympics coming up you would not expect a competitor like Tom Dumoulin to miss out on the ultimate stage. Announcing his return in May, the time trial specialist has been showing good progress and in his words is loving riding more and more, culminating in a strong outing in Switzerland and a convincing win in the Netherlands. According to Dumoulin, he still has a ways to go before hitting his good form but he believes these are encouraging signs, and while we may want to disagree and say the eye test tells us differently, take it from a World Champion to know his abilities and how much more he has left in the tank. A World Champion in 2017, Dumoulin would be in the perfect place to know what it takes for him to capture gold and how much work he needs to put in. This was his fourth Dutch TT title, beating Sebastian Langeveld of the EF Education-Nippo team, by twenty-eight seconds. His Jumbo-Vista teammate, Koen Bowman, came in third, at more than a minute behind Dumoulin.
Making his return at the Tour de Suisse, Tom Dumoulin is part of a growing contingent of riders who are taking a break from cycling to get their mental energy right. The ever-growing importance of balancing physical and mental health as a competitor is sweeping the sport, and some pundits feel it has less to do with the competition itself and more to do with the sport in general and the politics surrounding it. A few other riders have also taken a break from the sport, with Marcel Kittel retiring from the sport in 2019. The Tour de France and the Olympics are two of the biggest events on the cycling calendar this year and surely were motivating factors for Dumoulin to return barely six months after deciding to take a break. First up, will be the Tour de France, with the Dutch TT and Tour de Suisse being official warmups to the big event. Dumoulin will be looking to ramp up his preparation and hit the ground running in the Tour de France.
Whatever the case may be, it is great to have one of the best riders back out again on the circuit and winning.
