"I just rode Vincenzo Nibali right out of the wheel" - Tom Dumoulin recalls epic Giro d'Italia stage win atop Oropa in 2017
Cycling
A winner of four Giro d'Italia stages during his career and the Maglia Rosa in 2017, the now-retired Tom Dumoulin has great love affair with the opening Grand Tour of the season.
Reflecting on his relationship with the premier Italian stage race, Dumoulin took a trip down memory lane via the In Het Wiel podcast. "I really liked my victory on Oropa. There I felt so much power I my legs," Dumoulin recalls of his stage 14 triumph that powered the Dutchman towards overall victory in 2017. "Nibali was in my wheel. Suddenly I couldn't see him anymore. I just rode him right out of the wheel. He gave an interview afterwards, like 'this is impossible, this big Dutch heavy guy'. He was really impressed. I fought the many battles with Nibali, but I thought that was a very nice compliment."
Dumoulin was also a runner-up at the Tour de France during his career and although the Tour is widely considered the most prestigious race in cycling, the Giro was always the more special in the mind of the Dutchman. "The French themselves do think it's cool that their country is on the map. But I see them enjoying it less, being less proud of cycling itself," he explains. "You do have that very much in Italy: love and passion for the race. That comes out very much in the Giro. Even as a foreign rider, that's fantastic. I was encouraged as hard as Nibali in 2017. You'll never see that in France."
Looking ahead to the upcoming edition however, one name stands out more than any other on the startlist, that of Tadej Pogacar. Widely expected to romp towards a dominant victory, Dumoulin saw first-hand early signs of the Slovenian's greatness back in 2020 on the infamous individual time-trial of the Tour de France that saw Pogacar snatch the Maillot Jaune from his compatriot and Dumoulin's teammate, Primoz Roglic on stage 20.
"I thought: nobody is going to be faster, there's no way. I rode my best values ever," Dumoulin recalls. "Pogacar was exactly as fast at that first measuring point. He didn't look like a cyclist at all. He still had a bit of baby fat and was not really sitting nicely on his bike. That he was as fast on the first section was a moment when I thought, 'wow'. It really shocked me."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- A very true statement made by Johan Bruyneel: "We don’t know for sure about Jonas, because he dropped out of the Tour de France, but he would never have come close to Pogacar. Maybe he would have finished second. He won the Giro in dominant fashion and the Vuelta the year before, but Visma wants to win the Tour." That's exactly what I've been saying the last six months. If Pogi races with Jonas, the most he can be is second... UNLESS... Pogi crashes out or makes a BIG mistake, which is not likely to happen. Either Bruyneel thinks the way I do or he reads my posts. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- TADEJ POGAČAR !!! "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." OK, that's great!!! I've been saying all along: Tadej Pogačar-Pogi is the G.O.A.T... period. Not only in cycling... but he's the greatest sportsman that ever lived !!! But let's take a look of what real foolishness looks like: We have many many fools, also on this site, saying that Pogi is "boring,"... he's making cycling "boring"??? I can't believe what's comming out of their deteriorating smelly mouths. So I guess Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Fasto Coppi and Anquetil were also boring!?!? I guess Michael Jordan, Le Bron, Gretzky, Messi, Ronaldo, Shumacher, Novak Džoković, Federer, Rossi, Marquez, Phelps, Michaela Shiffrin, Venus Williams, Bolt, Lewis Hamilton... etc. were all boring. PS: Many cycling "fans" that think that way, have to get a brain scan. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- Ayuso has had enough time. He's always going to be a mediocre to good cyclist... nothing special or astonishing. But he does have many excuses, just like Remco, but Remco delivers good wins on occasions, Ayuso doesn't. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- I agree, Johan Bruyneel made big mistakes, he was involved in the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports... BUT NEVERTHELESS... Bruyneels analysis on bike racing and cyclists is among the best. That's a fact... period!!! I love listening to Spencer Martin and Johan on WEDU-THE MOVE PODCAST, but I don't care about Armstrong and Hincapie. They are both american bull shi***s who like to exaggerate and talk nonsense.PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- the headline is poorly written too. it makes it sound like their plan is to simply wait until he stops.mij13-11-2026
- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
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On tomorrow's GCN Giro Classics, disaster for Dumoulin during Stage 16 of the 2017 Tour? Watch tomorrow on the #gcnapp to find out! . #cycling #roadcycling #roadbike #bicycle #bike #gcn #racing #race #pro #proracing #cyclist #giro #giroditalia #grandtour
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