In decibels on Sunday morning at the packed Vrijthof, the cheers for Tom Dumoulin (31), one of the pawns in the Jumbo-Visma team, equal the welcome for Mathieu van der Poel (27), for Alpecin-Fenix top favorite for the overall victory in the Amstel Gold Race. Of course, the native of Maastricht has not been forgotten. “It’s an honor to be here again,” he says on the starting podium. In the bus of his Jumbo-Visma team, parked on the Markt, he had already confided to his sports director Arthur van Dongen that it felt good.
Dumoulin is back in the biotope with which he cut the tires indefinitely at the end of January last year. He struggled with the pressure, the obligations, the question of whether he still liked cycling. This is a step that counts when rejoining the pack. Start number 1 adorns his bicycle and shirt. He races in front of his own audience, in the race he saw as a boy, a stone’s throw from his parental home, in the hill country that he knows like the back of his hand. It has been six years since he drove the classic. It repeatedly did not fit in with his preparation, the choice fell on Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In 2016, still driving for Sunweb, he finished 91st in Limburg.
Not the shape yet
Sports director Van Dongen tempers any high expectations in front of the bus in the shadow of the town hall. He prefers to mention the names of Christophe Laporte, French, and Tiesj Benoot, Belgian. These are the riders who will possibly fill the gap of leader Wout van Aert who has fallen due to a corona infection. According to him, Dumoulin should be able to play a role ‘in the preliminary phase’ with Mike Teunissen and Nathan Van Hooydonck. Van Dongen: ‘Tom is not the absolute leader as he was in big rounds at the time. He’s not there yet. He doesn’t want that. That is not necessary.’ Dumoulin himself already called it ‘unrealistic’ that he could compete for the win. The shape is not there yet.
It is Van Hooydonck who is part of a leading group at the beginning of the afternoon; its part in the ‘preliminary phase’. The NOS reporter on the motorcycle previously signaled Dumoulin and Teunissen in the verge for a bathroom break. As Limburgers, they know better than anyone when the race really ignites.
Last year in the Amstel Gold Race, which was held once in twelve loops without an audience, the foundation was laid for the return. Dumoulin registered as a guest, greeted riders and took a few laps in the car of race director Leo van Vliet. The realization took root that the love for the race was not over yet.
The return did not go smoothly. After the silver medal in the time trial of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, setbacks followed. In September, he broke his wrist during a training ride. The resumption of the season in the UAE Tour was promising with a strong time trial, after which he quickly had to drop out in mountain stages with a sore lower back. A positive test for corona prevented participation in the Strade Bianche, after-effects led to premature retirement in the Tour of Catalonia.
To enjoy
With 60 kilometers to go in the Amstel Gold Race, the number 1 of Jumbo-Visma is in the first fifteen of the peloton. The difference with the escapees is one and a half minutes. It is a struggle in the first ranks, just before the Loorberg rises. He enjoys. He imagines himself in a ‘public tunnel’. He hears the spectators chanting two names: Mathieu and Tom.
A week earlier, a race in the lee of the major spring classics in the same area, the Volta Limburg Classic, had already gone more smoothly. Dumoulin was the animator of the match, with attacks on the Gulpenerberg and the Mheerelindje. He was unable to sprint for the overall victory, when he punctured two kilometers before the finish in Eijsden. He himself put the performance into perspective. Sure, he took hope from it, he had ridden well, but also pointed out the limited resistance.
The difficulties start on Sunday as the series of well-known climbs presents itself. On the Kruisberg, Dumoulin feels that he can barely catch up. On the Fromberg he just fights back against a large leading group, but then he asks Benoot if he needs anything else. “It’s best for me.” The Belgian waits for the Keutenberg with an attack. Behind him, the Dutchman has to give up ground quickly. He crossed the finish line in 30th place, 2.5 minutes from the winner. He is the best Jumbo rider after Benoot.
Coughs
There is no need for a quick response. He doesn’t want a camera on my face right away. After a shower in the bus, he looks back, regularly interrupted by a series of coughs. “It went well for what I expected. But I’m still short of being able to really ride a final. It’s enough to go into the coming period with confidence, but it’s certainly not my highest level ever.’
He will leave for Tenerife on Monday for a three-week altitude training course in preparation for the Giro d’Italia. He hopes for success in the two time trials and to be able to participate for the classification. Sports director Van Dongen: ‘He was already better than last week. Look at the riders he rode with today. He fought to the last. Another step has been taken. But there is still work to be done.’
Meanwhile, Dumoulin bends over to put a signature on a water bottle for a boy. The rites of the cycling world are also present again.