Where's Tom Dumoulin? Speculation swirls around Dutch star's comeback

Could Tom Dumoulin be racing his bike sometime soon?

The official answer is a “no,” but the evidence is pointing toward a “maybe.”

Four months ago, the Jumbo-Visma ace made a shock decision to step away from pro racing in the hopes that a hiatus from the pressure-cooker peloton would help him rediscover his love for the sport. Last weekend, Dumoulin made a guest appearance at his local Amstel Gold Race and was spotted catching up with his teammates, stirring a frenzy of hope and rumor among both home and international fans.

This week, Dutch outlet Wielerflits reported that Dumoulin has been offered a COVID vaccination after authorities in the Netherlands gave the green light for athletes shortlisted for the Olympics to be given an early pass for the jab.

Also read: Tom Dumoulin leaves Jumbo-Visma training camp to consider ‘cycling future’

Speculation is swirling. But if a comeback is on the cards, Dumoulin’s team isn’t letting on.

Also read: Tom Dumoulin is at a career crossroads. Which way will he go?

With official word still absent, even teammates in direct contact with Dumoulin are uncertain whether they will be seeing the return of Jumbo-Visma’s talisman anytime soon.

“I have had a lot of contact with Tom via Whatsapp in recent weeks,” Primož Roglič told NOS ahead of Amstel Gold Race on Sunday. “He told me that he still doesn’t know. I then wrote back that he should not put any pressure on himself.”

Speaking with VeloNews earlier this month, George Bennett said similar – that Dumoulin needs room to breathe as he reconfigures and reassesses what he wants.

“I’ve had a few messages with him,” Bennett said on a telephone call. “I think he’s sort of on this journey of finding out what he wants.  I’m not going to use metaphors and say ‘finding himself ‘ but just finding what he wants to do and what makes him happy. We all hope that involves coming back to cycling but if it doesn’t then he’s made the right decision.”

Dumoulin is not the first top pro to make the call to step away from the bike ahead of time. German sprint supremo Marcel Kittel and former-Team Sky rider Pete Kennaugh both took what was originally planned as a pause from racing, only to never return. Will the story be the same for “The Butterfly of Maastricht?”

TT bike-riding and fan-style race-watching is one thing.

An Olympic Gold medal or a Tour de France appearance is a whole different ball game.