Dumoulin sets top time in Egmond half marathon and wins combined classification: "I’m built for enduring hardship"

On Saturday, it was the Egmond-Pier-Egmond cycling race; on Sunday, the Egmond half marathon. Dutchman Tom Dumoulin took on both — and nailed it. He finished 31st in the cycling race and 30th in the running event, which earned him first place in the combined classification. An incredible achievement, though the former pro admits there’s still a lot of work ahead if he wants to take on longer distances.

The 2017 Giro d’Italia winner spoke to NOS after the event. "I think I’m built for enduring hardship," he said with a laugh. Setting a time of 1:08:45, Dumoulin improved his personal record for the distance. This meant he was as fast as Haven Hailu, the Ethiopian women’s race winner. Clearly, Dumoulin has potential. "The conditions were perfect for Egmond. I ran really well for my standards. But I’m hurting all over."

While he used to leave nothing to chance during his professional career, his new hobby is a different story. "I just run based on feeling," said the otherwise meticulous Dutchman. "I don’t really have a training schedule." What hasn’t changed, however, is his competitive nature. "I planned to follow the fastest runners at the start, but they took off so quickly — it wasn’t realistic. So I thought, let me just run at my own pace, or I’ll burn out within a few kilometers."

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Earlier this year, Dumoulin won a hefty 26-kilometer running race

Marathon the next step? "Can't do that yet"

Dumoulin has taken to running fantastically and enjoys it immensely. He wants to push further, faster, and better: running a full marathon is on the horizon, but he acknowledges there’s still work to be done. "My fitness is still pretty good, but I’ve noticed that my tendons and muscles really need to adapt to running," he explained. "To run a decent marathon, you need to train four to five times a week. I can’t do that yet. I’d just end up with injuries everywhere."

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