Tom Dumoulin calls Amstel Gold Race 'the race of the year': "As Dutch people, we should be a little more proud of the Amstel"

Tom Dumoulin can't wait until Sunday, when the Amstel Gold Race is on the program. The 33-year-old former professional rode the Dutch classic six times in his career without a stand-out result. Yet he still enthusiastically calls it 'the race of the year' in an interview for AD.

Dumoulin has stopped cycling for a while, but still knows exactly what it feels like to ride the Amstel Gold Race. "When I was there again last year as an analyst for television, I thought it was so cool. I don't necessarily have to be at the start, but I will. Then I'm that little boy again. I'm going again on Sunday. Let's try to look up Mathieu."

"I never watched cycling, but I did see the Amstel. That's where the seed was planted that made me think at the age of fifteen: 'I'm going to stop playing football, and isn't cycling for me?'" And the same seed was planted when, during a break from cycling in 2021, he returned to the side of the race. "I got really excited again and got the virus again. After that I thought: 'I'm just going to do that Olympic Games.' I started cycling again."

"Those steep hills, the nature, the twists and turns. I still get an itch when I cycle here," continues Dumoulin. He calls the Amstel Gold Race 'a unique competition'. "As Dutch people, we should be a little more proud of the Amstel." It is not without reason that Dumoulin recently submitted an open application for the job of race director for the race after 2025.