Tom Dumoulin abandoned Saturday's 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia, the section from Sant'Antena to Turin. The Dutchman was hoping that his lingering back pain would improve, but the race was speedy right from the start and he pulled off to the side of the road after 50km.

"It's a little better," he said. I've had the same problem all season and when the intensity goes up it causes problems with my back. I hope it's getting better," said the Jumbo Visma rider.

"It's gotten better in the last few days and I hope it still gets better.

"Like I said before, I don't have any problems when I'm training, but as soon as the intensity goes up I feel it. I will evaluate after the Giro, but right now I don't have time. I have treatment and it will get better."

In a social media post, Jumbo Visma confirmed that Dumoulin had abandoned the stage, saying, "Tom has been feeling ill for several days."

In a press release issued on the Jumbo-Visma website during the stage, Dumoulin said of his form and related injuries, "The tank is empty. I don't know what to say at the moment. I'm very sorry. I can't kick power without it hurting. I have no form. At the moment, I don't have an answer to the question of why this is so."

Dumoulin confirmed that over the past two weeks of racing, he has gradually realized that he is not getting the best out of himself.

"I realized that I didn't have the best legs for this Giro. Still, I wanted to finish this round and finish in Verona with the rest of the team. I wanted to at least put the kilometers I needed in my legs for the race. I pushed myself every morning to make the most of it, but it was simply not possible. At the moment, my body is finished," he said in a press statement.

Dumoulin, who won the overall at the 2017 Giro d'Italia, admitted he was suffering from a lingering back injury that dropped him more than 19 minutes in the overall standings at this year's event. In a short interview with Eurosport (open in new tab) after stage 11 in Reggio Emilia, Dumoulin said, "To be honest, I have a problem with my back, I have a problem with my back, I have a problem with my back.

Dumoulin then returned to the World Tour, albeit briefly, for the Tour de Suisse, the Dutch road championships where he won the time trial, the Tokyo Olympics where he took silver in the time trial, and the Benelux Tour.

Dumoulin impressed in the second stage of the Giro d'Italia in Budapest, finishing third in the time trial, but a few days later he struggled with a 14% incline on the Etna climb on stage 4 and was dropped from the winning group.

He finished fourth on stage 7, assisting teammate Cane Bouman to victory. However, the team no longer had a contender for the overall win.

"It was a beautiful thing to experience in this Giro. I enjoyed it. But the last few days were almost painful. Now I want to go home and get rid of this frustration. Then I'll think about it again," he told a press conference.