“It is about fun and passing on that message” – Tom Dumoulin shares new approach to cycling

Over the last few years, it has become a growing trend for former road riders to turn to gravel racing after retiring from the WorldTour. Now, Romain Bardet is set to follow suit in summer 2025, and Tom Dumoulin, the 2017 Giro d’Italia winner, will also take part in gravel races this year.

Dumoulin retired at the end of 2022, and while he is not returning to competitive racing, he has recently taken part in Egmond-Pier-Egmond, a beach race, where he finished 31st, his first race in over two years. Speaking to Wielerflits, he shared his thoughts on returning to the start line.

“I sit on the racing bike twice a week for a maximum of two hours. You may not compete for the places of honour, but I really enjoyed it. I only see it as a competition, I really participate purely for fun, so I stood there at the start very calmly.”

“This was the first time with a number on the bike and I actually thought it was funny again. It didn't trigger something in me that made me think about a comeback, but I do like to do a gravel race just for fun, also to add some variety to the cycling.”

Dumoulin had an illustrious career on the road, winning three Tour de France stages, four Giro d’Italia stages, two Vuelta a España stages, and claiming the World Time Trial Championship in 2017. However, his approach to cycling now is vastly different.

When asked when he will next race on gravel, Dumoulin revealed: “Sea Otter Classic (in California). But again, that is also purely for fun. It is not that I am suddenly going to follow Laurens ten Dam and travel the world for gravel races and compete with the best. I do not know exactly where I will start, but I will ride them in any case.”

Since retiring, Dumoulin has remained connected to cycling. “Since I stopped, I have discovered that I have a great deal of passion for cycling and the cycling world. I also know that world well and talk about it with love and passion. I try to reflect that in my work as an analyst for the NOS, but I also try to do that as an ambassador for Giant.”

“I want to take people with me in my enthusiasm, why it is fun to cycle and do adventurous things on the bike. Not necessarily to want to be the best, but just for the adventure and the fun. That there was still something competitive in it, for example in Egmond: okay, that is fun, but that does not always have to be. It is about fun and also passing on that message to other people.”

While Dumoulin remains passionate about cycling, he has no intention of returning to professional racing or coaching full-time. "I'm not ruling anything out, but at the moment I don't see it happening anytime soon. I do find the coaching part interesting, I might like that in the future. But I don't want to be away from home 180 days a year, so I'm really going to... No, I don't see that happening anytime soon," he stated firmly.

Reflecting on the pressures of professional cycling, he admitted: “I was a bit put off by that at the time, because I was just stuck. It became very business-like, so to speak. Look, certain things are expected of you for a salary, you have sponsorship obligations for that. At a certain point there was quite a bit of pressure on that and people started to interfere, which meant that it completely went away from why I ride a bike: because I like it.”

For Dumoulin, the enjoyment of cycling remains, but without the weight of expectation. "I also just get a lot of fun out of beating others, getting better and being the best version of myself. But that must, must, must, that's not so much for me anymore."