Tom Dumoulin sees himself in Simon Yates: “Visma creates an atmosphere where pressure can suffocate you”

“I was incredibly surprised when I saw it in the press,” Dumoulin said. “It was unexpected even for his team-mates, so I can imagine the shock inside the team. In any case, I completely understand Yates, because I was in the same situation as him.”

Dumoulin explained why the sport can grind riders down. “Ultimately, cycling is one of the most demanding sports in the world, if not the most demanding,” he said. “We’re away from home all year, the hours and intensity of training are extremely high, and then there’s the pressure to win and the inherent risk that comes with riding a bike. The demands are relentless.”

“And there are riders who can handle those demands just fine, but there are also riders who — even though they’re tough guys — maybe have a better sense of where their limits are. I couldn’t get out of that vicious circle. For years, my life was cycling, cycling, and cycling — nothing else. Of course, with the pressure and the need to perform every day,” Dumoulin said.

“For years, I felt like I didn’t have control over my career. And in my case, not being in control of my career meant I wasn’t in control of my life,” he continued. “I felt like I always had to bend to the needs and wishes of others.”

“Everyone had an idea of what I should do at a certain moment, but at the same time — and it’s hard to say — nobody ever asked me: ‘Hey Tom, how are you?’ It was exhausting. So exhausting that I became depressed. I even started to hate cycling. I hated the bike. I didn’t want it in my life anymore.”

That Yates stopped while riding for Team Visma | Lease a Bike is something Dumoulin says he can understand. “Visma is the most professional and advanced team in the world — even more advanced than Pogačar’s UAE. They base everything on data, on detailed analysis. Their system is so refined and everything is so structured that, as a cyclist, you can sometimes feel trapped. That obsession isn’t necessarily bad — the results clearly show that — but at the same time, it creates such a heavy atmosphere that the pressure can eventually suffocate you.”

“At Visma, every decision gets debated. If you don’t feel great one day and decide to skip your interval session, it leads to a lot of discussion inside the team,” Dumoulin said.

At the same time, Dumoulin believes it’s part of a wider trend in cycling. “I’ll put it like this: if we asked any rider right now — young or old — what they would choose: to have fun, perform at 90% of their level and have no chance of winning, or to give 100% and risk your time, your body, and your mental health to try?”

“Everyone — without exception — would choose the second option. I did it myself too. And yes, it led to me overtraining, burning out, and completely derailing. But looking back, I wouldn’t have done it differently. I wouldn’t have known,” Dumoulin concluded.