Berlin (dpa) – Tom Dumoulin was at the last Tour de France, the only rival of the all-powerful Sky-Cycling stalls. Him the greatest opportunities are given to push the defending champion Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome from the throne.
In his Dutch homeland, the 28-Year-old since his Giro Triumph in 2017, a big Star. In an Interview with the German press Agency Dumoulin speaks about his goals, the Sky Team and the Doping issue in Cycling.
question: Tom Dumoulin, they have become in the past year, Second in the Tour de France, Giro d’italia and the time trial world championship. It was a year of unfulfilled dreams?
Tom Dumoulin: I would have liked to have won, I am a professional cyclist. I am, however, proud and happy with the year. I wanted to be good and I was good. It is a driver, unfortunately, is not always better, I have to accept. When I won in 2017, the Giro, I was perhaps even worse, but had more luck with the course or the competition was worse. I’ve grown in the last year and have made further steps, physically and mentally.
question: you will start in the Tour, but this year the Giro is your main goal. Why?
Dumoulin: Actually, it should be the Tour, but the Giro has an exceptional track for me. The Tour is not really, therefore, we have knocked over the plans.
question: It is not unusual to have the Tour as the main goal.
Dumoulin: I can make this decision each year. If I want to prove that I’m a big tour rider, I must ride to the Tour with a few time kilometers. This year, a win would be a Surprise. I would love to win the Tour once. I am a happy Person, even if I win never the Tour. I love the Giro more than the Tour, but the Tour is bigger. The atmosphere in Italy is more suited to my character. There, it is small and familiar.
question: Sky gets to the end of the year from the sport of Cycling. This is good news or bad news for the Rest of it?
Dumoulin: This is bad news. This shows how fragile the sport of Cycling. It shows just how much the System is reliant on the money of the sponsors. The is no economic model. Even a successful Team like Sky can’t keep a Sponsor. That many drivers are without a Job, is not helpful.
question: How does it feel to be a lone fighter against the Sky Empire?
Dumoulin: I was last year, the only rival that could challenge for the Tour. This will not always be so. The question will be whether Chris Froome or Geraint Thomas will be in the next few years, always in the same Constitution.
question: you had found in the Salbutamol case of Froome critical words. What is your relationship to him?
Dumoulin: We are opponents in the Competition, not friends. I speak with him as with each other.
question: How much of the case of your sports has harmed?
Dumoulin: This is not what Cycling needs. This was a big setback. No one knew why. At once Froome was acquitted. WADA says, he has done nothing wrong. This is beautiful. But why was it not declared? There are two sides to the Story. In any case, it was bad for the sport of Cycling. That is a fact.
question: How is the credibility in your industry?
Dumoulin: I would have to say that Cycling is more credible, but this case does not make it better. A lot of people lose those cases of the trust. Personally, I think that the Cycling is very clean. I know that I am clean and I can win races, even big tours. Should the driver take something, then you are ten per cent better. Maybe a percent. Otherwise I would be no better than you. The question is, whether you believe me. I can’t force you to believe me, or that Cycling is credible. Everyone says that he is clean. I don’t like it that people don’t trust the sport of Cycling. I can understand it but not completely. I wouldn’t be involved, I would think maybe so. That makes it hard, because it’s the Sport that I love. I hope that people will believe in the new Generation.
question: Is it hard, always the old stories of Armstrong or Ullrich to fight?
Dumoulin: Yes. It’s not nice that people believe in me or the sport of Cycling. That wasn’t my Generation. I hardly know a driver from my Generation or younger that has been tested positive. Maybe there are one, two, or perhaps ten, but there are not many. I think my Generation is not affected.
question: In other sports such as football, there are less controls. Nevertheless, these are not under suspicion.
Dumoulin: This is frustrating. There are many sports that have not gone through such a time, and where nothing has changed. I don’t want to accuse other sports. It is not for me as a professional cyclist. In our sports is finally happening for some years the worst.
question: your country man, the football player Frenkie de Jong, 21 years old and could leave in the summer for 80 million Euro with Ajax Amsterdam. You have the wrong Job?
Dumoulin: Probably not, because I can’t play as good football as he is. The football model has a better economy. You have stadiums, Fans, Marketing, TV rights for all. We don’t have that. It is also, perhaps, harder to be Frenkie de Jong as Tom Dumoulin. There are maybe a billion people play in the world football. He must be really good. I am perhaps one of the Best of ten Millions Of Cyclists.
question: a Lot of Stars such as Marcel Kittel or John Degenkolb have to leave in the past your Team. Ellen van Dijk went on the grounds that there were too many rules in the Team. This is so?
Dumoulin: It is true that the Team is very strict with the rules. It is such a great company. There are house rules, Ellen came from a smaller Team. Since a Team is run differently. More than 100 people are employed. I can imagine that it will feel some as too strict. Sometimes it is for me. But I’m for seven years in the Team and I am very happy.
PERSON: Tom Dumoulin was born in 1990 in Maastricht and is considered to be one of the best tour riders in the world. In 2017, he became the first Dutchman to the Giro d’italia and was drive-time world champion. Last year, he was Second in the Tour de France, the Giro and the world Cup.
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