Dutchman Tom Dumoulin is set to make his return to professional racing at the Tour de Suisse this weekend.
Giro winner Dumoulin last turned a pedal in anger at the Vuelta a España in 2020. He’s been out all of this season having decided to take a break.
When the Dutchman announced he would be stepping away from the sport following the Jumbo-Visma training camp early in the year he wasn’t sure if he’d even return to being a professional cyclist. He didn’t start back riding until April and then was seen at the side of the road watching Amstel Gold. Last month he said: “I found it very nice to see everyone again and to taste the atmosphere of the race. That triggered me to say, ‘Oh, this is a world in which I have built up something in recent years but that has also really become my world.’ A world that I really like.”
He added that in recent years he had become “a bit lost” as to what he really wanted from the sport. But he has refound that now.
Coach Frans Maassen told CW that Dumoulin’s appearance at the Tour de Suisse will be mostly about assessing his level as part of his preparation for the Olympics.
“There’s the first prologue [11km], when everyone will be fresh and then there’s a TT on stage seven [23km] when he’ll be a bit tired,” said Maassen. “He wants to go to the Olympics so a certain level is needed for that because he has some time but not that much time.”
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