Giro d'Italia - Devastated Tom Dumoulin: I’m not ready to go home
May 16 2019 01:32 am CET
Photo of Tom Dumoulin © Team Sunweb
Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) is heartbroken after having to abandon the Giro d'Italia during the fifth stage of the race. The Dutchman couldn't continue due to the injuries he sustained on the day before.
The rider went through the first kilometres of the stage but the pain in his leg didn't allow him to keep going. This was one of the main goals of the rider for the 2019 season and he has had to abandon it after crashing on the fourth stage of the race in an accident that affected his left knee.
"I came here for a three-week adventure and I wanted to finish it, I’m not ready to go home," said Dumoulin after retiring from the Corsa Rosa. "I went on the trainer this morning in my room and it was actually kind of ok, but when I stood up on the pedals my knee was really sore. I also tried it seated but that didn’t work either – I could spin the legs but not race.
"For me it's terrible. Months and weeks of preparation and dedication went into this Giro and in one moment it’s over. It’s not how I wanted it to go, of course, but it is how it is. I don’t know how bad the injury is, we only know that nothing is broken and it will probably just be swollen for a few days, but we have to see. For now, I will just rest and see how it goes."
Now the rest of the riders of Sunweb will shift their focus for the rest of the Giro d'Italia. "We’ve got a really strong group of guys here, both younger talents and those with more experience, all of which are more than capable of going for a stage," said Sunweb's coach Mark Reef.
"We’ll take a day by day approach, look for opportunities and match our strengths to the stages to try and go for the win."
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