Tom Dumoulin thinks cycling has become too scientifical: "I found cycling less enjoyable, partly because of this"
Cycling
A decade ago, Argos-Shimano entered the WorldTour peloton with ambition to leave their mark in the peloton. During the AD Sports Festival in Rotterdam, Tom Dumoulin looked back on the Tour de France of 2013 during a special screening of the documentary 'Nieuwe Helden'.
The Dutch formation of Iwan Spekenbrink won no fewer than four stages with talented riders and showed the sceptical audience that success was also possible without doping. "We had the common goal to show that things could be done differently," said Dumoulin according to WielerFlits.
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Debutant Dumoulin enjoyed the early years of his career most during his career. At the time, the Giro winner did not yet expect to reach the world top as a GC rider. "I wasn't working towards becoming a classification rider at all. I already rode good time trials, I think I finished ninth during that Tour in 2013. So I could time trial well and go uphill, but I was not yet among the better ones."
Even just a grand tour stage seemed like a distant dream then. "I hoped to win a stage in the Tour one day," the former world time trial champion continues. "But that I would later win the Giro d'Italia and come second in the Tour de France, I never dared to imagine."
According to Dumoulin, cycling has changed considerably since then. "We were very open-minded at the time. We were starting a new chapter in cycling. In fact, the wheel almost had to be reinvented. The doping past was just behind us then, now it is much further behind us. Although it will probably not be completely gone anytime soon," he indicates.
The former world time trial champion sees that the current cycling world is a lot more 'clinical' than it was back then. "We are now very well developed with data, with nutrition, all the dots and crosses of the i's and that makes things even faster than before. You can no longer win the Tour at the speeds of that time. During the last years that I cycled, I found cycling less enjoyable, partly because of this."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
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