Tom Dumoulin versus Lance Armstrong, Adam Yates and others: How cycling pros shape up over the marathon

Dumoulin wasn't the only former cyclist to run a marathon on Sunday. Alexandr Vinokourov (3 hours and 5 minutes) and Steve Chainel (3 hours and 26 minutes) also competed in New York, while Michael Boogerd ran the same distance in The Hague. Boogerd—along with his brother Rini—finished in 4 hours and 39 minutes in his hometown.

Recently, Frenchman Alexys Brunel also made a name for himself. He rode for TotalEnergies last season, but clocked a time of 2 hours and 26 minutes in Lille. The 28-year-old Brunel was 22 seconds faster than Dumoulin, who did, however, run the New York Marathon, which is generally considered more challenging, as it is a hilly course.

The undisputed king, however, is James Whelan. The 30-year-old Australian retired from cycling with Pinarello-Q36.5 at the end of 2024, but quickly found a new passion in running. Last year in Valencia, he ran an impressive half marathon with a finishing time of 1 hour and 1 minute, but a few weeks ago he also competed in his first full marathon.

Whelan did this on purpose in his hometown of Melbourne, where he made a big impression. The Australian ran at the front for a long time alongside Eliud Kipchoge, the man who became the first ever to run under 2 hours in Vienna. In the end, however, Whelan pushed himself a bit too hard, which ultimately led him to finish fifth. He did so in a time of 2 hours and 17 minutes—a full 10 minutes faster than Dumoulin.

The former cyclist, who is now a “professional runner” representing Salomon, is far from satisfied with that time. He believes he can do much better and plans to devote himself entirely to that goal in the coming years. “It’s just the beginning, ” he wrote on social media right after his first marathon.

In any case, we see a lot of former cyclists putting their fitness to use in marathons. Lance Armstrong tried it right after he retired for the first time, clocking a time of 2:46 in New York.

Well-known former pros such as Laurent Jalabert (2:45 in Barcelona), Rolf Aldag (2:42 in Hamburg), and Abraham Olano (2:39 in San Sebastián) were also among the early adopters.

Even active cyclists did it. Michal Kwiatkowski ran a 4:11 in New York last year, while Adam Yates broke the 3-hour mark in Barcelona right after the season ended.