Dekker needs to lose up to four kilos

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Thomas Dekker is pleased with his comeback to the top rankings of cycling, and his team Garmin-Sharp is, too, since it recently gave him a new two-year contract. But the Dutch rider knows that he must continue to change and improve, and one area in which he needs work is his weight, he said.

Dekker, 28, told Wielerland Magazine that he did not feel that he could “show what I wanted to show. And I did not ride as I had in mind. That takes time, and I am convinced that I can still do it.”

However, he said, “I still have a few points to improve. In the short stage races and one-day races I did pretty well this year. But for a Grand Tour, I really need to be lighter. There is still a kilo or four to go.”

Dekker, who at 188cm weighs 70kg, according to his team website, said, “It is a matter of eating less. Not during the race, but before and after. Only cycling is not enough, because even after three weeks of the Vuelta [a Espana], I only lost 900 grams.”

Dekker had planned to race Milano-Turin today and the GP Piemonte on Thursday. He is scheduled to end up his season at the Tour of Beijing.