Tom Dumoulin has abandoned the Vuelta a Espana 2020 before the start of stage 8 to the Alto de Moncalvillo.
The Dutchman started Vuelta as co-captain with Primoz Roglic for Jumbo-Visma, but had faded out of the GC frame in the opening three stages.
“We have decided that I will leave the Vuelta”, Dumoulin wrote on Twitter. “Both our coaching staff and I think it is the best choice to get off the bike. At the start of the Vuelta I already felt tired and that feeling remained. It makes no sense for me to continue, because then I might put a strain on next season. It is not desirable to leave the Vuelta, but this is the right choice. We can all agree on that. With Primoz Roglic we are in good shape in the general classification, hopefully the team can take home the win.”
“I had hoped to be able to fight here for a good result, but at the moment I am pretty tired. It is what it is.”
“My busy program and coming back from injury all cost a lot of energy and backfired before this Vuelta,” Dumoulin said. “That’s the conclusion we have to make. I would have liked to have been better here.”
“There was no time to do a real grand tour preparation. There were no altitude camps, no warm-up races,” Dumoulin said at the start of the Vuelta. “We went to straight to the worlds and then the classics. It’s not ideal, but it’s the same for everyone. We have to make the most out of it.”
