Tom Dumoulin has been feeling the impact of his Giro crash for eight months and his situation has just worsened with news that he will miss even more races.
The Dutch rider has not pinned on a number since June 15th last year. Since then he has changed team, from Team Sunweb to Jumbo Visma, his recovery has proven protracted.
He was due to ride Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana last week but fell ill just before the race and was forced out before it even began.
He was due to begin an altitude camp this week but has been unable to. And because of that he will ride neither Tirreno-Adriatico nor Milan-San Remo.
It now appears his comeback to action will be delayed until late March or early April. That lengthens his time off the bike and means fewer opportunities to race before the Tour de France in July.
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“Unfortunately I had to abandon Valencia last week. I
would’ve flown to altitude camp this Thursday to prepare the next races, but we
have to postpone until I feel 100 per cent again,” he said.
“We will change my racing schedule by skipping Tirreno and MSR to allow me the time I need to get back on full strength again.
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“It’s such a shame because I was feeling amazing and I couldn’t wait for the season to start. Too bad I need to wait a little longer now.
“To quote the famous philosopher RUN DMC: ‘It’s like that, and that’s the way it is’.”
Dumoulin, who hasn't won a race since claiming the final TT in the 2018 Tour de France on his way to 2nd overall, crashed out of the Giro last year.
He injured his knee on stage 4 and though he started the follow day he soon abandoned the race.
Though he return for the Criterium du Dauphine in June, he also pulled out of that race, on stage 7, after complications arose with his knee injury and has not raced since then.
Dumoulin suffered complications with his knee injury, with debris being caught in it, necessitating surgery to remove particles of gravel.
He then continued to suffer from an inflamed tendon though last year as well as damage to his knee cartilage, ruling out a hoped for return to racing at the Vuelta.
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