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"My mind was only on the next race. I wasn't even enjoying it anymore" - Tom Dumoulin talks about how pursuit of success led to burnout in cycling
CyclingWednesday, 25 October 2023 at 09:10
Having retired at the end of 2022, Tom Dumoulin has now completed a season in cycling outside of the bike. Commentating, analyzing and possibly building on a role within a World Tour team, the Dutchman has continued to be very active and looks back at some important points throughout his career.
"If you ask: if you wanted to have a normal life and not have been a professional cyclist, then I would choose the life of a professional cyclist," Dumoulin told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club. "But I am happy that I quit the sport at a relatively young age. The most beautiful feeling you can have as a cyclist. You're constantly chasing that feeling when everything is going well. That's such a good feeling. Fortunately, I have been able to experience that several times during my career. It's something you will never experience again for the rest of your life."
Dumoulin was a proven winner and one one of the most successful riders in recent years. Still, he suffered, mostly psychologically, from the amount of pressure that came from racing at the highest level. "You are at the top both physically and mentally and are capable of winning the biggest races. It is a difficult decision to move on from that, especially because it feels so special to achieve those great things," he said. Ultimately, without the results and the same legs to show for, he decided to pull the plug on his career.
According to him, some of his colleagues already assumed that he was to hang up his wheels before he had made the decision. "Karsten Kroon and Laurens ten Dam came to visit me once when I was training for the World Championships in Livigno. Karsten saw me training and based on that told me that it would be my last good season. And he was right," Dumoulin reveals. "I just asked too much of myself. I chased goal after goal after goal. I looked at nothing but my own bubble. My mind was only on the next race. I wasn't even enjoying it anymore, but I was chasing my dreams."
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