"I hated cycling so much, and I hated being there so much" - Dumoulin reveals insider view on 2020 Tour de France

Tom Dumoulin has now retired from professional cycling, and is giving some insight on some moments of his career, the 2020 Tour de France being the case, where Jumbo-Visma dominated the race until the final competitive day where Tadej Pogacar took over the yellow jersey from Primoz Roglic.

“I liked the atmosphere so much that I thought: this is my world. I'm not done with it. It feels like home. I still feel the love for the bike. Maybe one day I'll be a coach, a consultant. But I will stay away from a professional team for a while," Dumoulin said in an interview with NRC, having shared that he travelled to Australia to watch the World Championships following his retirement.

A combination of long-standing psychological issues, combined with the inability to return to his best level in the climbs, have seen the Dutchman retire in 2022. The World Championships were to be his best race, but he decided to pull the plug earlier following the Clasica San Sebastian. He's opened up about the 2020 Tour de France, where he worked for Roglic, whilst simultaneously managing to have himself up the GC.

“It was really, really awful. I hated cycling so much, and I hated being there so much," he revealed. "Almost the entire Tour I drove around with a large tumor under my buttocks (a saddle sore). And still I was able to help the team and I finished seventh. Seventh! I really don't understand how that is possible. And then you have to imagine that the world was able to watch during the most unfortunate period of my life.”

Hence, stepping away from pro cycling was the logical reason for Dumoulin at the time being. “For the first time in my life I can fill in everything myself. I start with a completely blank page and where I'm going, I have no idea. And I'd like to leave it that way. Because it feels good," he continues.