Tom Dumoulin has set his sights on further Grand Tours and time trial success in 2018 but has, for now, held back from confirming he will target the Tour de France.
Dumoulin took a stunning victory in the men's individual time trial at the Bergen world championships on Wednesday, beating Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) by 57 seconds and Chris Froome (Great Britain) by 1:21. He was also part of Team Sunweb's team time train winning squad of six and has a chance of a third world title in Sunday's elite men's road race.
The Dutchman has enjoyed a remarkable season, winning the Giro d'Italia in May, the BinckBank Tour in August and then the time trial title. Dumoulin will be 27 in November and is clearly nearing the peak of his career and physical ability.
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Dumoulin's rare combination of Grand Tour ability and world-class time trial skills makes him Froome's biggest rival for the 2018 Tour de France. However, Dumoulin and his Team Sunweb squad have always selected their goals carefully as part of a long-term development plan, preferring a lighter racing programme to lofty goals. He opted to not ride the Vuelta a Espana after his success in the Giro d'Italia, knowing a selective race programme and specific blocks of training could give him a peak of form for the world championships.
His success of 2017 has, in turn, boosted his self-confidence.
"I think my abilities are quite wide; I can apparently win a Grand Tour and the time trial championships. Until now one hasn't bitten the other and I'll probably be able to do both in the future," Dumoulin explained.
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