"I just couldn't do it anymore" - Tom Dumoulin on why he retired, Visma, Pogacar and van der Poel
CyclingMonday, 21 April 2025 at 13:38
Tom Dumoulin is one of the most talented riders of the past generations and has achieved more than most could ever dream of. However it was the change in professionalism of the sport and different requirements that slowly drained the Dutchman from his motivation to continue racing and led to an early retirement.
It was the opposite of his early career years at the Shimano/Sunweb team. "Maybe that's where the spark was ignited, yes. In my first years as a professional, it felt like a dream come true. I remember the first Tour with Argos-Shimano when we won four stages with Marcel Kittel," Dumoulin said in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. "I had a strong role in the sprint train, and in all the other stages, I could do what I wanted and discover my abilities. I can now say that was the most enjoyable and best time of my career."
By the time he retired in mid-2022, he was on the complete side of the spectrum. "I just couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't getting any satisfaction out of it. I was just a performer. The dietitian told me what to eat. The trainer told me how to train and where to race. Without asking, how do you feel about that, or how do you feel about it? That's where I got stuck."
Dumoulin turned pro in 2012 and remained with Sunweb until 2019. "In the early years, everyone gave me pieces of the puzzle, my trainer and the dietitian. I threw myself into it with full enthusiasm: okay, the coach says interval training; how will I fit that into my schedule? At that moment, I felt like I was assembling my career puzzle. But in the end, I had become a piece in someone else's puzzle."
With a Giro d'Italia victory, Tour de France podium, Time-Trial World title and many other stories of success, the Dutchman had the legs and the heat to be very successful in the sport. However the continuous search for more marginal gains in the sport and increase in the demands for a pro rider became a big obstacle.
Not a matter of losing his performance, but often it was possible to see that in the stage-races and Grand Tours he had not taken the leap that other riders managed to. This is something that's happened with several other riders - whilst some riders Dumoulin beat in his generation currently climb at much superior levels.
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"The best riders today are indeed those who find that balance best. Pogacar and Van der Poel joined a team at a young age and were encouraged to listen to their instincts. Mathieu still has a considerable amount of autonomy," he argues on his compatriot. "He eats healthily and uses all the science available but decides which races he will and will not ride."
Visma also have a lot of success due to their hunt for all details, but this did become a difficulty at times for Dumoulin. "With their data-driven approach, they have achieved huge success for several years. That approach certainly works for some riders. It is challenging for Visma to find the right balance between data, science, and human coaching."
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- My personal opinion is that UAE has a proprietary cocktail that isn't on the market and will probably never be on the market. It's happened before in sport. Look at BALCO and THG with the baseball situation. UAE could very well have their OWN scientists and chemists making a proprietary cocktail just for them. They have what I call "fk you money" which means UNLIMITED money. It's not out of the range of real possibilities. I've seen a few of your comments and decided to look and see what you've said in other articles. That led me to a few of your comments and I felt it would be ok to speak my opinion. Obviously my opinion doesn't go over very well with most but I've also seen people say "you are everything wrong with the sport" to you😂 and I thought maybe I can talk with this guy. You may not agree with me which is fine but the conversation needs to happen Cheers 🤘🏻🇬🇧
kaos03-05-2025 - I actually agree. Jonas and Visma put off altitude camp untill May I believe to help him closer to the TDF. I do also believe we will see Jonas retire suddenly and soon 🤘🏻🇬🇧kaos03-05-2025
- This is what I've been saying but nobody is wanting to listen. I don't know if I'm right but I'd like to see the spring classics season affect Pogi at the TDF 🤘🏻🇬🇧kaos03-05-2025
- I can't believe how naive some people are. You must be new to this sport. The history of doping is so entrenched in this sport. It's a very real thing and it didn't stop with Lance. You're absolutely crazy if you think this sport is "clean" 🤘🏻🇬🇧kaos03-05-2025
- I agree mate. I've watched this sport for over 40 years and something is going on within Team UAE and its not above board. Yes they test but when has testing ever caught these massive doping programs so to say "he tests clean" is a farce. We know the testing system is a joke. The bio passport was introduced to help catch doping jut it had the opposite effect. It HELPS these dopers stay within the limits. We will probably never get "proof" about Pogi and UAE as a whole but it's clear something is going on. The entire peleton has access to the same nutrition, technology, science etc etc but when you see pogi I. THE SADDLE going up a 24% gradient, nose breathing, like he was shot from a rocket while all the other top level riders are struggling to even stop from tipping over, there's something not right. All we can hope for is for someone to come forward after their career has come to an end that was at UAE during this time. I believe we are seeing a new substance within the sport. It could very well be a proprietary cocktail made just for UAE that isn't on the market and will never be on the market so it will remain undetectable. It has happened in sport before. Look at THG made by BALCO used by baseball players. That was a proprietary cocktail that never hit the market. With all the UNLIMITED money UAE has I believe they have their own scientists making them a "special brew" that we MAY NEVER see or know about but the best chance we have of this coming out is a disgruntled ex staff member or ex rider from UAE and it may not come out for 10 or 15 years but I believe we WILL find out in years to come 🤘🏻🇬🇧kaos03-05-2025
- Not sure why this article popped a year after it was published. I've been saying this all of last season and all of 2025 season. Pogi has gotten arrogant. Last year was bad and this year he races with rainbow jersey so it may even be worse. I like to see that he's not had the success he wanted for 2025 tho. I was hoping that would bring him down a peg or two. One thing is certain for me tho and that's the fact that Pogi has now reached a level of arrogance and he plays nice to the cameras to make his "new" fans think he's awesome but those of us that have watched the sport for decades see right thru his act. He's fun to watch race but I've lost all interest in him after 2024 season.kaos03-05-2025
- I've not even looked at the start list for the Giro yet but I'll be watching every minute. I don't usually go for the favourite. I find it too easy to go for the favourite but I'll usually pick 2. One I THINK will win and one I would LIKE to win. I certainly don't want Ayuso to win. The lad is arrogant and he's a problem child for UAE. I'm not a big fan of UAE anyway. I feel something isn't right within their camp. One thing is for sure tho, GT's have plenty of excitement and usually some surprises and that's the fun of it all. Probably the best part of cycling is seeing new talent make a name for themselves and win stages. That's what the sport is all about for me. Lads I've never heard of that leave their mark in the sport 🤘🏻🇬🇧kaos03-05-2025
- Can't see Remco making an impact at the Tour. Maybe next year if he stops riding very near parked vehicles on narrow roads at speed.Renz03-05-2025
- Utter stupidity. HE the the premier rider for them. Why is he pacing someone else who has not even proven themselves. That too in the light of the TT to come. 5 mil for domestique . One wont see these antics from Pogi or Jonas unless they are completely out.abstractengineer03-05-2025
- It's irrelevant whether the riders will oppose safety measures or not. The UCI have demonstrated time and again that they don't care what the riders think. The UCI will implement whatever they want (which based on recent history, has nothing related to rider safety anyway). Also, it's not like the riders have a vote anyway, so it's a hilarious and irrelevant point that you are making.Pogboom03-05-2025
His ex wife played her cards well.
Do you know more?
love tom. smart, interesting guy. and he’s dead right about mathieu, i think. if van der poel had gotten stuck on a team like ineos or visma or soudal, it would have radically shortened his career. fortunately he was smart enough to prioritize freedom with alpecin over the giant contract he could have gotten years earlier with a bigger team. remember that alpecin was just a continental team when mvdp keep signing contract extensions with them for short money. it’s certainly all worked out over time though. maximum freedom — probably the most in the entire peloton — and huge deals now with both alpecin and canyon. tom was such a GREAT talent i wish his career had played out the same way.
And his relationship which was probably a side-effect from work problems :-(
yeah, certainly that’s beyond anything i know about tom’s life, but, as you intuit, it’s hard to make anyone else happy when you are profoundly UNhappy.
“If you had told me this five months ago, I wouldn't have believed you. I always hoped that I wouldn't become one of those cyclists who got divorced after his career ended. But unfortunately that is the case," he said.
The timing was very revealing and as he mentioned, it’s a typical price to pay for being a pro cyclist (among others). It takes a very specific type of partner to accept that life and you can’t always know or see that in advance. The relationship is often “suspended” with the hope of improving upon retirement when you can finally focus on each other, but that’s when you discover new sides of each other and sometimes realise you weren’t compatible. What you said is very often true too unless you’re lucky enough to find the kind of person who sees what makes you unhappy and can help change it (and that only works if not done out of self-interest (such as fear or self preservation) which is often people’s motive for seemingly wanting to help a partner resolve issues).
yup, that’s sad. marriage is a tough proposition under the best circumstances. i get the FEELING that one of the reasons why jonas doesn’t race as much as people would like is that he fights to put family first? again, im not in a position to say, but we learn from the mistakes of our colleagues if we’re lucky. in the professional culture i come from, naval aviation, marriages tragically drop like flies and there’s sometimes nothing w we can do about it. but i TIRED to make the little differences where i could and ended up one of the lucky ones.
Good for you, I’m pretty sure you’re right about Jonas, he was probably brought up to consider family more important than anything work related, as most sane people. It’s so obvious in cycling though, your career is 10-15y, your partner and kids are for life, not hard to decide which is worth fighting for keeping more. You don’t see many happy ageing singles, it may seem cool when you’re younger but what are you left with later except nostalgia? Marriage is definitely not something to hurry into these days, it takes a looooong time to discover a whole person with all of today’s possibilities and activities.