Tom Dumoulin returns to competition in Criterium du Dauphine
Jun 06 2019 01:19 am CET
Photo of Tom Dumoulin © Team Sunweb
Team Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin will return to racing in the Criterium du Dauphine. The Dutchman will use the race to return to his form ahead of the rest of his season.
Dumoulin had to withdraw from the Giro d'Italia during the fifth stage as a consequence of the injuries he suffered the day before in a crash that happened just kilometres away from the finish line. The rider got a hard hit on his left knee and the pain and inflammation forced him to retire from the grand tour.
The rider had been on a slow recovery path but he's ready to come back to competition and he will do so in the French race. "Critérium du Dauphiné presents a challenging course throughout the race with a particularly difficult final stage," said Sunweb's coach Aike Visbeek. "Our main focus will be stage success and we aim to achieve that by riding both offensively and attentively throughout the week. The early stages will be contested by Joris and Casper, who are both in great shape with some solid results in recent races. If all continues according to plan, Tom will make his return to racing at the Dauphiné after injuring his knee at the Giro d'Italia.
"His recovery has been slower than we hoped for and he will undergo a final MRI scan tomorrow [Thursday], as a final check before he heads to France. Then he will use Dauphiné to get back into racing rhythm for bigger goals in July. We'll take a day-by-day approach, taking no risk and with no focus on the GC. Alongside Tom, we also have Martijn (Tusveld) back from injury which is great, and Robert fully recovered, after his Giro was also ended early after a crash."
If Dumoulin returns to a good shape during the French race, he could also start in the Tour de France, although this hasn't been confirmed by his team.
Team Sunweb's roster for the Criterium du Dauphine (9th to 16th of June):
Tom Dumoulin
Johannes Fröhlinger
Joris Nieuwenhuis
Casper Pedersen
Robert Power
Florian Stork
Martijn Tusveld
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