Tom Dumoulin has revealed that he will be aiming for overall victory in the Grand Tours in 2022, but did not say whether he will be aiming for the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, or Vuelta a España.

The 31-year-old Dutch rider has decided to take a break from racing during the first months of 2021 to focus on his personal health. However, he returned to racing at the Tour de Suisse in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics time trial, winning a silver medal behind Jumbo Visma's teammate Primoš Roglic.

A broken wrist prevented him from competing at the World Championships in Belgium, but he is giving his all for the 2022 season and recently attended the Jumbo-Visma training camp near Girona, Spain.

Roglic has agreed to a new contract with Jumbo-Visma through 2025 and could lead the team to overall victory at the Tour de France.

Dumoulin could return to the Giro d'Italia, which he won in 2017, but he could also improve during 2022 and target the Vuelta. This year's Vuelta will start in the Netherlands and will feature a team time trial and an individual time trial.

"We have talked a lot about this in the team over the last few months. I think it is very special to run in the classifications. It is the ultimate challenge, the pinnacle of cycling," Dumoulin said in an interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (open in new tab).

"It's that elation that drives me. Of course it's not only that. The fun should always be there, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the special highlights."

Dumoulin has not raced a Grand Tour since 2020, when he finished seventh overall in the Tour de France and abandoned the Vuelta early due to fatigue. He is confident he is ready to return to the sport's toughest race.

"I think it's special to have this opportunity and it's cool to do it well. There's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure, no matter how hard it is. But when I look back on my career so far, it's those moments when I perform to the best of my ability under difficult circumstances that are special."

Dumoulin admitted that this time last year he was feeling tired, overtrained, and frustrated. He eventually announced that he would take a break at the start of the Jumbo Visma camp last January. Now he is far more motivated and ready to take on the younger generation of players who have recently emerged. [Last December, I noticed that I wasn't feeling good. Now he feels good and comfortable in his own skin.

"It's great to have some young athletes join us every year. It makes it even harder to get good classifications, but it's great for cycling."