It was supposed to be a red-letter day for Tom Dumoulin, but the only thing that was red was the roadside as he was left bloodied and a little embarrassed by a crash that ruined his chances of time trial glory at the Abu Dhabi Tour.
The Dutchman looked resplendent in his rainbow jersey as the reigning world time trial champion rolled off the start ramp on Al Maryah Island with the aim of ramping up his bid for general classification glory.
As UAE Team Emirates rider Alexander Kristoff is afforded the opportunity to wear white for the majority of the season thanks to his European road race victory in 2017 – so too is Dumoulin allowed to wear his stripes at time trial races following his gold in Norway last September.
He may well have switched to the rainbow jersey for Stage 4, but Dumoulin definitely didn’t show his true colours as the crash saw him slump down the standings, although he did recover sufficiently to claim 12th place – 30 seconds adrift of winner Rohan Dennis – leaving him ninth overall.
Dennis hopes to transition from time trial specialist to GC contender in 2018, with Dumoulin his muse. And the Dutchman might do well to reflect on his own career-shaping 2017 to find inspiration as he looks to overhaul Dennis and claim overall victory on Sunday.
Dumoulin trod the path to transitioning from specialist to all-rounder in 2017 – the Team Sunweb star famously won a first Grand Tour title at the Giro d’Italia, capping a stunning season with time trial glory.
But it was on Jebel Hafeet 12 months ago where the seeds for 2017 success were sewn for Dumoulin – as he rose to the occasion on the daunting ascent on Stage 3 to claim third behind winner Rui Costa and second-placed Ilnur Zakarin – both climbing specialists.
Tech behind the two stripes: @tom_dumoulin's rainbow edition @Giant_Bicycles Trinity Advanced Pro in all of it's glory. 🌈😍
— Team Sunweb (@TeamSunweb) 24 February 2018
Check out the finer details and spec here: https://t.co/Ieq6e5BICs pic.twitter.com/JVCZceUUny
It proved Dumoulin could cut it as a GC man. He finished just 10 seconds behind Costa, while leaving the likes of famed mountain men Fabio Aru, Rafał Majka and Nairo Quintana trailing in his wake.
Though he will have been desperately disappointed by his debut in the rainbow jersey, Dumoulin is unlikely to dwell long on his Stage 4 debacle.
There is still stage and silverware to be won on Sunday’s summit. And the Maastricht maestro must continue to concentrate on the future as he looks to become a cycling master.
