TOM DUMOULIN WINS TOUR DE FRANCE TIME TRIAL
TOM DUMOULIN RACED TO VICTORY IN STAGE 13 OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE, A TIME TRIAL OF 37.5KM, TAKING HIS SECOND WIN OF THE TOUR AFTER HIS VICTORY ON STAGE 9 IN ANDORRA.
Stage 13 of the Tour de France was an individual time trial of 37.5km from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to La Caverne du Pont-d’Arc. Dumoulin was the fastest on the tough parcours, with a time of 50’15” and an average pace of around 44.7km/h.
REACTIONS
“During the recon which I did behind John [Degenkolb] in the team car I noticed there were a couple of tricky moments with the cross winds so I was well prepared and aware of it. Therefore we decided to race with a normal front wheel.
“Throughout the course anyway the wind was very dangerous and very hard to cope with. In the final run in there was one dangerous moment where I almost went off the road.
“Overall it was a very good time trial and it shows that I am in good shape at the moment. During the last two days I was not feeling so well, but today I had good legs. I was able to enjoy the ride today and I was able to concentrate on my performance. I know I can pick my days during the Tour and go for a good result, and today’s victory gives me a lot of confidence.”
Coach Marc Reef added: “This is super and we are really pleased. Everything went perfectly today just like we planned. We are proud of the performance of Tom and of the whole team. We were feeling positive about today and with new aerosuit we proved that challenging the tiny margins are worth it. Tom checked it one time in the car upfront with John [Degenkolb], especially how John would cope in the wind because we knew the wind was pretty strong.
“From the moment he started you could see that Tom had power in his legs and he was ready for it. Throughout the time trial, he remained very concentrated in his effort and did a very good performance. On the intermediate points, he already had a gap over his competitors, and then he just continued and kept on pushing until the finish line. Tom has shown today he is an incredible talent.”
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TOM DUMOULIN WINS STAGE 9 OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE
TOM DUMOULIN WON STAGE 9 OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE AS HE WAS ABLE TO STAY AWAY ON THE FINAL CLIMB TO THE MOUNTAINTOP FINISH.
Today was the first proper mountain top finish at the Tour de France. The stage was 184km long and most of it took place in Spain, in the autonomous area of Catalonia. The final climb was Arcalis in the country of Andorra, a hors category climb, one of the hardest climbs in the Tour. There was a turbulent start with constant attacks, followed by a large group, which got away with Tom Dumoulin. They managed to increase their advantage to a maximum of nine minutes with Team Sky setting the pace at the front of the peloton.
Towards the Arcalis, the highest point of the Tour and the fifth ascent of the day, Tom Dumoulin attacked and climbed at a steady pace to enjoy an one minute advantage on the first chasers, halfway through the climb. In extreme weather conditions, Tom was able to stay away, to the mountaintop finish to win his first stage at the Tour de France. Warren Barguil finished in 28th place and is now 15th in the GC.
REACTIONS
Tom Dumoulin gave his reaction: “To win the queen stage of the Tour de France here in Andorra is just fantastic. If somebody had told me a few days ago that I would win today I would have said they were crazy. Throughout the stage, I was starting to feel better and I saw the opportunity to join the break as my legs were feeling really good.
“It didn’t matter to me that it was raining on the final ascent, I was just determined to do my best and I barely noticed the weather conditions. I was just in the suffering mode and completely focused on my effort. I am super happy with this performance.
“The first week of the Tour didn’t go too well at all and I was not feeling particularly content with my performances but my team kept my spirits up. So now I have won one of the toughest stages of the Tour and I am very proud of myself and the whole team.”
Warren Barguil said: “Today my performance was much better today, and I reassured myself. Now I am looking forward to the rest day, to recover well and then I can go again and be ready for the Mont Ventoux and the Alpes.
“I was happy with the weather conditions today because I had suffered from the heat during the last stages. During the Tour de Suisse, I experienced the snow and today it was the hailstorm. Once it started to rain I just set my own pace and I was quite happy with my performance on the final climb.”
Coach Adriaan Helmantel added: “It was a hard fight to join the breakaway. When Valverde dropped out of the break then it was clear that the front group would make it to the finish. The gap finally grew quickly and I was confident that they would make it to the finish. But there were still some strong riders in the group but Tom did a great job.
“During the first category climb he let the others attack and he set his own pace. In the valley before the final ascent, he attacked himself and he immediately created a small gap. Behind him in the chasing group there was a lack of cooperation and Tom’s advantage grew to 40 seconds.
“On the final climb he started with a 50 seconds gap, and they didn’t close it and I became more confident that he could make it. In the end it was a little bit surreal with the rain and hailstorms and the final kilometre was just amazing.”
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