Jumbo-Visma‘s rider Tom Dumoulin has announced that he has decided to call it quits and put an end to his career. Dumoulin will not be taking part in the World Championships race scheduled in Australia. It was going to be his last race with the status of a pro rider. The winner of the 2017 Giro d’Italia said in a message:
I decided to quit professional cycling with immediate effect
The Dutch rider had announced two months ago that he will retire but it was expected that he will carry on until the end of this year’s campaign. Even though he loves to ride a bike, things were not as he expected them to be for quite some time. He wanted to go out with style by winning at the upcoming World Championship, but he did not find it in himself to carry on any further. Despite wishing the contrary, he has decided to end his career.
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The last year’s crash left a very big impact on the rider. He entered this year’s season with many complications. The 31-year-old also acknowledges the fact as he said:
Since my hard crash in training last September, something has broken again. I had to interrupt my efforts to return to my old shape yet again and deal with another disappointment. It was one too many
Tom Dumoulin has had an exceptional career. He is considered to be among the best tour riders of his time. He not only won the 2017 Giro d’Italia but also stood second in Tour de France and the Giro. Furthermore, he also won the 2017 time trial world title. Richard Plugge, Jumbo-Visma‘s boss was also not very happy with the decision of the rider but he still decided to respect it. He paid homage to the rider in the following words:
We are sorry that Tom is ending his career with immediate effect, but we respect his decision. Tom has meant a lot to cycling fans, both in the Netherlands and worldwide. He can be proud of his career. We wish him all the best for the future
On the other hand, even though Dumoulin himself made this sudden decision but he admits that he will miss his team. He looked extremely thankful for all the support he has received yet. He still takes immense pride in his career as it took dedication and a lot of hard work for him to achieve it:
Even though the farewell didn’t turn out the way I hoped, I look back on my career with incredible pride. I worked hard for it, took a lot of passion and pleasure from it for many years, and delivered brilliant performances. I will never forget that.
Although he enjoys his time on the bike, he has decided that it is time for him to now enjoy other things and chase new adventures. In the words of Tom Dumoulin himself:
Now it’s time to enjoy other things and be there for the people I love. A big thank you to my team and everyone who supported me during my fantastic career. And a special thank you to my wife, who had my back all these years.
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Featured Image Via YouTube/ Cycling Pro Net
