Tom Dumoulin

Tom Dumoulin (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɔm dymuˈlɛ̃ː]; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike. He has won the Giro d'Italia and nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Championships and two Olympic silver medals.

Known for his time-trialing ability, Dumoulin excelled in climbing and was viewed by many as a climbing specialist. At the 2015 Vuelta a España, Dumoulin had two stage victories and led the race into its final weekend, before losing four minutes on the penultimate stage and ultimately finished sixth overall. He led the 2016 Giro d'Italia during its opening week and won two stages at the 2016 Tour de France. His sole Grand Tour in 2017 was the Giro d'Italia, where he overcame stomach problems and a 53-second deficit entering the final stage to become the first Dutch winner of the race and the first Dutch Grand Tour winner since Joop Zoetemelk in 1980. Later that year, he became the first Dutch male to win the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships. In 2018, Dumoulin finished second overall at both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.

Dumoulin missed the first half of the 2021 season after he took an indefinite break from cycling for personal reasons, ultimately making his return to the sport at the Tour de Suisse in June and winning his fourth Dutch National Time Trial Championships later that month. The following year, he announced that he would retire from the sport at the end of the 2022 season before retiring early on the 15th of August.

Dumoulin was born in Maastricht, and grew up in the city near the Maas Boulevard, which used to host the finish of the Amstel Gold Race. Originally his ambition was to study medicine and become a doctor, but after not being offered a place at medical school he began a Health Sciences degree. Dumoulin did not enjoy classes and within a year he opted to pursue cycle racing for a year.

Dumoulin first made an impact in 2010, when he competed at the Grand Prix du Portugal, part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup – Dumoulin won the race's opening time trial, despite never having ridden a time trial bicycle before, and went on to win the race overall. Later that year he won a time trial stage of the Girobio. He was due to ride for Cervélo TestTeam in 2011, however the team disbanded at the end of the 2010 season. He rode for the Rabobank Continental Team in 2011.

Dumoulin turned professional with the Dutch Project 1t4i team in 2012. Although he did not win any races in his first two seasons as a professional, he began to make his mark in major races, especially in time trials. He made his grand tour debut in 2012, riding the Vuelta a España.

In June, Dumoulin won the Dutch National Time Trial Championships. In September, he finished in second place at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec after surging ahead on the last climb but was passed by Simon Gerrans before the finish. Later that month he won bronze in the UCI World Time Trial Championships, placing third behind Bradley Wiggins and Tony Martin in Ponferrada, Spain.

Dumoulin started the 2015 season by finishing fourth overall at the Tour Down Under. He took his first success of the season by winning the final individual time trial on the Tour of the Basque Country. His second victory of the year came at the Tour de Suisse, where he won the prologue with a two-second advantage over Fabian Cancellara. He also won the closing stage of that race, a 38.4-kilometre (23.9-mile) time trial he covered at an average speed of 47.407 km/h (29.5 mph). In the Tour de France, Dumoulin was one of the favourites to take victory in the opening time trial on home soil in Utrecht, the Netherlands, but ultimately finished fourth. On stage 3, he was involved in a massive, high-speed crash and had to abandon the race.