Lidl-Trek say Sam Oomen can afford to be a little more selfish — and now a role in the spotlight beckons

The days of Sam Oomen racing for his own results seem long gone. But is that down to the legs of the still-only-30-year-old Dutchman? Or also to the growth of Lidl-Trek and the new responsibilities that have come with it? The truth lies somewhere in between. IDL Pro Cycling probed a little deeper, and it turns out that Oomen has been given a free rein at the Tour of the Alps, and a chance to roll back the years.

For someone of 30, Oomen already has an impressive career behind him. In 2016, he moved from the Rabobank development team to Team Giant-Alpecin — known from 2017 onwards as Team Sunweb. It was the team where Tom Dumoulin developed into a Grand Tour contender, and we all know that Oomen played a significant role in that.

The climber won a stage and the overall at the Tour de l'Ain in 2016 and regularly finished in the top ten of other stage races in the years that followed. His major breakthrough came at the 2018 Giro d'Italia, however, where Dumoulin finished second as team leader, while Oomen — despite a mountain of domestique work — still managed ninth in the general classification.

A promising career as a GC rider beckoned for Oomen, but a year after his impressive Giro, the same race turned against him. He broke his hip and was then diagnosed with a narrowed iliac artery. Surgery kept him out for the rest of 2019. He returned in 2020 — the COVID year — his final season at Team Sunweb.

Oomen then moved to Visma | Lease a Bike (then still Jumbo-Visma) in 2021, where they believed they could bring out the very best in him. His development there, however, coincided with the rapid rise of the Dutch team itself, which meant domestique work was often the order of the day, with only the occasional opportunity to go on the attack.

After 2023, Oomen moved to Lidl-Trek, where his role was not very different from the one he had at Jumbo-Visma. He regularly rode on the front for his team leaders, but was given the chance to go all-in in breakaways at the 2024 Vuelta — and took it three times. This season he was on the attack again at the Tour de la Provence, where he finished seventh on the final day.

"Things are going okay — I had a good start in Australia and was well prepared for that. I was also good at the Tour de la Provence. After that I mainly rode in support of Mattias Skjelmose in France and Catalonia, and that went well too," Oomen reflected at the Tour of the Alps team presentation.

The Dutchman, who described riding in support of "top professional" Skjelmose as "a privilege," is candid about his situation. "It depends a lot on the race, the position I find myself in, and what my tasks are. If you're riding for others and you're needed earlier, you finish fewer finals. If you do get that chance, you can save yourself a bit, and if you're in good shape, the odds improve. But the level is so high that you can't afford to be even one percent below your best."

Whether Oomen rides at the front in races like the Tour of the Alps therefore depends, in his own words, on his level. But according to Lidl-Trek sports director Adriano Baffi, the climber could also afford to back himself a little more when it comes to his own opportunities. "Sam is a great guy, first and foremost. I don't know whether it's his choice or the way his career has developed, but he is dedicated to others."

"I'm not going to say he's a domestique, but he has chosen this path, and in the hard stages he shows his level as a climber," said the Italian directeur sportif. "Maybe he can afford to be a little more selfish sometimes, when it comes to his own results. For our team he is a solid teammate, but if he has the legs, in races like this one he really should go for his own chance."

In the first mountain stage on day two in South Tyrol, Oomen rode in support of Derek Gee-West, who had something of an off day. Does that open the door for an attacking final three days for Oomen? "Maybe he doubts himself a little — precisely because in recent years he has more often been a good teammate than a winner. But I believe in what he can do," said Baffi.

"I've spoken with him a lot — during our training camp in Sierra Nevada and in the lead-up to this race. Sam will get his chance, without a doubt."