Tom Dumoulin no fan of Strava:

 ‘I don’t want to show how I prepare’

Don't expect too see Dumoulin's Tour de France training rides on Strava, as the Dutchman would rather keep his secrets to himself.

Dumoulin is lining up to be one of a trio of leaders for his Jumbo-Visma team at this year’s Tour de France, but don’t expect to see his epic training miles on Strava.

While many WorldTour pros are avid users of the online training platform, the 29-year-old Dutchman prefers to keep his training to himself.

“I don’t put anything on it and I don’t follow anyone,” Dumoulin said. “I don’t want to show how I prepare.”

Many pros are more than happy to share their training with the world, with Chris Froome posting up epic 200km rides in Colombia and South Africa, and recently, Oliver Naesen drawing criticism for his massive training rides during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dumoulin would rather play his cards close to his chest however.

“Top sport is about getting an edge over the other,” Dumoulin told Belgian outlet HUMO. “When do you train hard? When [are you] quiet? It takes years to perfect that. Winning a match is a puzzle that is very difficult to solve. I’m really good at that. Why the hell would I share my years of experience with the world?”

The Dutchman has already spoken of his mistrust of online racing, saying recently that the results “are not to be trusted” and that competition on events like Zwift are “better than nothing,” but not something he’s going to focus his energies on.

One race that does have Dumoulin’s attention this year is the Tour de France. While the fate of the race is still uncertain, if Dumoulin does find himself lining up on the startline in Nice this year, he’ll find himself one of three leaders with his new team, Jumbo-Visma. It will make quite a change for Dumoulin, who had formed the center of the team Sunweb grand tour universe through recent seasons.

“I wanted to join a team where I wasn’t the only leader all year round — not the only monkey on the rock,” Dumoulin said of his move to Jumbo-Visma this winter, adding that joining fellow grand tour stars Steven Kruijswijk and Primoz Roglic gave him “the feeling that I entered the Real Madrid of cycling.”


Despite having a 2017 Giro d’Italia victory and second-place finishes at the 2018 Giro, and the Tour de France to his name, Dumoulin is comfortable sharing leadership duties with his teammates.

“Steven Kruijswijk, Primoz Roglic, and I all want to win the Tour,” Dumoulin said. “So we’ll have to accept that maybe a teammate is better. Then we draw his card. And not from the one who thinks: my day may come.”

Just remember, if you do want to see just how much Dumoulin wants to win the Tour, you’ll find no clues on Strava or Zwift.