Dumoulin: A new breed of cyclist, or of the Wiggins mould?

I was originally only going to write this article if Tom Dumoulin did the unthinkable and won the 2015 Vuelta a Espana last weekend. And so imagine my dismay when watching Stage 20 the Dutchman slipped back – first by a handful of seconds, then a handful of minutes.

He arrived in Madrid in sixth place, a far cry from what seemed to be promised a couple of days beforehand, but still a remarkable achievement for a man whose previous highest Grand Tour finish was 33rd in the 2014 Tour de France.

He was viewed before the race in much the same light as Bradley Wiggins in his early road career – a time trial specialist. A man who could put minutes into people against the clock, but not a man who could hold his own when the race started going up the biggest climbs.

So how did a big Dutch powerhouse get his way up the climbs with the likes of eventual Vuelta winner Fabio Aru, and the imperious 2014 Giro winner Nairo Quintana?

Well, the image of Dumoulin never being able to climb so well before the Vuelta was a slight myth. While he hasn’t kept up with that calibre of riders in three-week races before, he has been able to test himself against these men in shorter races.

Dumoulin has finished in the top five of the Tour de Suisse twice, this year finishing third. He has also had some impressive performances in the punchy Canadian races the QPs de Quebec and Montreal.

Not exactly performances to suggest he’d be dropping Quintana and Aru in this year’s Vuelta, but good performances nonetheless. Dumoulin’s climbing has never been abject, especially in comparison to Wiggins.

Before Wiggins’ own breakout Grand Tour, the 2009 Tour de France, his highest overall finish was 69th in that year’s Giro d’Italia. His highest performance in the Tour de France so far was 121st.

Wiggins was a track specialist, and on the road his best performances were in prologues and individual time trials. Until 2009, when he arrived at the Tour de France having lost six kilograms. It enabled him to climb with the best on his way to fourth place.

Having completed a move to Sky he finally got the formula right in 2012, where the combination of weight loss and his abilities in the individual time trials led to a storming victory over the rest of the favourites.

Dumoulin is being likened to Wiggins because of his time trial prowess, combined with an ability to climb with the best. It is a strong similarity, but there is an area where Dumoulin has the advantage.

Though not renowned for it, Dumoulin has a better ability to climb than Wiggins did at the beginning of his career. Couple this with the fact he is focused on the road earlier than Wiggins ever was, and the fact in the future he will surely have a team focused around his challenge, and we could be looking at big things for the Dutchman.

Wiggins won the Tour de France, as well as a host of other one-week stage races. He attempted to win the Giro d’Italia but ultimately his body said no.

Dumoulin has the raw talent and the capability to not only match Bradley Wiggins, but surpass his record on the road.

I expect to see Tom Dumoulin win not just one Grand Tour, but maybe even several.