In a series of exclusive interviews recorded in Rome, Team Sunweb riders and staff talk about their experience in the heart of the Giro d’Italia over the past three weeks. Roy Curvers, the team’s road captain riding his eighth Tour, called this year’s Giro “the fastest Grand Tour ever.” He was referring to the fact that Team Sunweb was defending the Maglia Rosa (the pink jersey), and had to stay on point throughout every single day of the race.
The talkshow, Creating Memories Live, includes never-before-seen footage of team Sunweb, taken from behind the scenes during the crucial final four stages of this year’s Giro. Tom Dumoulin, Laurens ten Dam, Chad Haga, and Roy Curvers all give interviews for the show. Team trainers Marc Reef and Hendrik Werner also have some unexpected insights into life on the road during this remarkable Grand Tour, and we learn about Ten Dam’s search for Austrian Germknödel.
Teamwork
The clearest message from riders and staff is the importance of teamwork. Each and every member of the Team Sunweb crew was pumped to be at their best for the Giro, and they achieved second place on the podium while remaining the “team to beat.” This was an extremely stressful, but unifying, experience. “I have no regrets,” says Tom Dumoulin.
“I tried everything, raced my heart out for three whole weeks, and if there’s one man stronger in the end, that’s the way it is.” Also, Tom’s main helper in the mountains, 22-year-old Sam Oomen, finished 9th overall in the GC, which was an incredible result. “Sam was supporting his leader to the end,” said Laurens ten Dam. “And he still got 9th!”
“You have to accept what you achieve,” says coach Marc Reef. “Tom was stable, the team was stable, and it’s always more difficult to defend than to get to the top.”
Weird lifestyle
The whole Team Sunweb Giro team will probably now split up, and riders and crew will go their separate ways.
After three hard weeks of racing, you would think the riders would have developed a strong aversion to Grand-Tour-life. But their passion remains intact. “I’m going to miss a lot of things,” admits Tom Dumoulin. “We’ve done something very special here, and it’s a rather weird lifestyle that only a few of us get to experience. And that’s something I’m going to miss.”
Dumoulin mentions the Tour de France, but says that the team will make a decision on whether or not he will take part in the next couple of weeks. Here’s to hoping…