Tom Dumoulin: The problem of the last three years was that I lost the pleasure in my job

MERIBEL FRANCE SEPTEMBER 16 Arrival Tom Dumoulin of The Netherlands and Team Jumbo Visma during the 107th Tour de France 2020 Stage 17 a 170km stage from Grenoble to Mribel Col de la Loze 2304m TDF2020 LeTour on September 16 2020 in Mribel France Photo by Christophe PetitTesson PoolGetty Images
Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) at the 2020 Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Ahead of his return to the peloton at the Tour de Suisse on Sunday, Tom Dumoulin has said that he had lost the pleasure in racing before taking a break from the sport, adding that his time away was a big help.

The Dutchman stepped away from racing for an indefinite period at his Jumbo-Visma team training camp back in late January, stating that he felt as though "a backpack of a hundred kilos has slipped off my shoulders" and saying that he'd spend some time thinking about what he wants for his future.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.