Dumoulin leaves Froome in his Giro wake
JERUSALEM: Reigning champion Tom Dumoulin hailed a “perfect” display as he laid down a marker to main rival Chris Froome by winning the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia in Jerusalem.
Dutchman Dumoulin edged out Australian Rohan Dennis by just two seconds in the 9.7km time-trial around Jerusalem as Froome struggled following his crash in morning training, finishing 21st and losing 37 seconds on Friday.
After his race, the 32-year-old Briton warmed down on a stationary bike and then went straight back to his hotel without speaking to the press.
Froome’s build-up to his attempt to become only the third man in history to hold all three Grand Tour titles at once – he won both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana last year – had already been compromised by a scandal over an adverse doping test reading in September.
He returned a urine sample with elevated levels of salbutamol and spent much of his pre-Giro press conference on Wednesday answering questions about whether or not he should even be racing at the Giro.
Froome failed to find top form over the last few months, although he finished a credible fourth at the Tour of the Alps in April.
However, in previous years he has almost always won at least one week-long stage race in the lead up to his major Grand Tour objective of the season. — AFP