Tom Dumoulin had been away from racing for more than a year before making his long-awaited Jumbo Visma debut at the Tour de Ain.

The Dutchman, who just finished seventh overall in the Tour de France, said after the race in Paris that he considered leaving the sport earlier this year.

A knee injury sustained in a crash at last year's Giro d'Italia nearly ruined his 2019 season, and a combination of intestinal parasites and a COVID-19 outbreak prevented him from starting his 2020 campaign until August.

Dumoulin was scheduled to compete in the Tour as part of Jumbo-Visma's three-way attack, but Steven Kruijswijk suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Criterium du Dauphiné and was forced to pull out. In the Tour, Dumoulin lost time on stage 8 in Roudenvielle and settled into the superdomestique role of Primoz Roglic.

For Jambovisma, Dumoulin was happy to be back in the race, despite three stage wins, which were ultimately disappointing when Roglic was blown away by challenger Tadei Pogachar in the Planche des Belle Fille time trial.

"I am proud to have reached this level again," he told Dutch broadcaster NOS (opens in new tab) in Paris. He "finished seventh and was in contention for the win in the time trial.

"I had a really bad period after my knee injury. Then bowel problems, and then Corona ...... I would say I was closer to quitting than continuing."

"In May, I started trying to pick up the thread again. I love cycling and started working towards the Tour. My preparation got better and better, but to this day I still don't feel comfortable on the bike."

Dumoulin is on a positive trajectory, from 11th in the Tour de Ain to 7th in the Dauphiné and now 7th in the Tour.

His run in Saturday's time trial was his best Grand Tour result since the final time trial of the 2018 Tour, but what he will never forget about his performance is that he was baffled by Pogachar's run - "How did Pogachar go one minute faster than me? I don't know how Pogachar climbed a minute faster than me," he said on Saturday afternoon.

The theme of bewilderment continued on Sunday, when the 30-year-old claimed that his time trial victory at the 2017 World Championships in Bergen, Norway, was as powerful as his time trial victory.

"My values were worthy of the World Championships. That's great. That's why I was more surprised that Pogachar was 1:21 faster."

"I should be able to say that I will never reach that level. I might win one percent somewhere, but not five percent."

Dumoulin has already been selected to be part of the Dutch road race and time trial squads for the upcoming road world championships (September 24-27), but his participation in the time trial will depend on his future health.

"I will go home for a few days and then fly to the World Championships on Wednesday. After that it depends on my physical condition. The time trial on Friday could still be changed.

"I have agreed with my national coach, Koos Molenhout, to see how I will come out of the Tour. I feel good, but it was a difficult time. I don't want to overburden myself which will lead to next year. I'll take a good rest and we'll see each other again in Imola."