Dumoulin, taking on a new challenge, blunt about final season at Jumbo-Visma: "We didn't get much out of it"

"I'm doing Unbound Gravel," the 34-year-old Dumoulin reveals about his next sporting adventure, which takes place in Kansas. "But only the 100-mile race." He has no specific goals or ambitions for the event. "It's just to experience it. I absolutely have no intention of trying to win the race."

His friend Laurens ten Dam has practically launched a second cycling career on the gravel scene, but Dumoulin makes it clear that’s not what he's aiming for. "He's still very competitive, but my goal is simply to ride, enjoy it, and share that with the people around me." Dumoulin now compares himself to the average cycling enthusiast. "Most people hop on their bike twice a week just for fun, and now and then they do an event and enjoy it. That’s totally fine. I’m one of them now too."

For the 100-mile race at Unbound Gravel, the Dutchman isn’t doing any extensive preparation. “It’s not like I’ve been training hard for it or following a structured plan or anything like that.” Still, he’s in pretty decent shape. “Of course, I’m not unfit, but I’m certainly not lining up with more than 10 hours of training per week. So I’m fully aware that I won’t be in contention for the win—and that’s totally fine.”

Competing just to participate, not to win—doesn’t that go against the nature of someone who’s won so much? A little bit, Dumoulin admits. “I really don’t feel like spending five hours a day on the bike anymore. I’ve already done that. Now it’s time for other things. That said, I still enjoy being part of these events, even though I’m not going to win them. And yeah, sometimes that’s hard to accept. But I just don’t want to put in the hard work anymore.”

Dumoulin’s impressive career came to a rather sudden end in 2022, although he looks back on it with great memories. Since stepping away from the peloton, the Dutchman has learned a lot about himself. “I now know so much more about what makes me happy, how I function, who I am as a person, what I need from the people around me, and what I can give them when I’m at my best.”

Still, there’s one thing he would have done differently in hindsight. “I wish I had communicated better. I wish I had spoken up much earlier with the teams I rode for. I should’ve asked for more autonomy, more freedom within the structure of the team. I think I would’ve performed better because of it.” That also applies to his final year at Jumbo-Visma, where he finished in the top 10 five times. “The team and I didn’t really make each other better then, and that’s a shame. We didn’t get much out of it.”

All in all, cycling has “given me so much,” Dumoulin says. “I really put my heart and soul into it, and I still enjoy watching it.” But he also acknowledges the dangers of the sport. “It’s a very dangerous sport. There are fatal accidents, serious injuries, horrible crashes, and a closed-off world that can be very businesslike—one that doesn’t always focus on the well-being of the person behind the athlete.” So, does he see a future for his son Oscar as a cyclist? “As a father, I’d say: maybe not.”