Giro d'Italia winner celebrated by thousands in Limburg
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Tom Dumoulin in the maglia rosa with the Trofeo Senza Fine(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
It was a sea of pink as Tom Dumoulin was feted in Maastricht(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Joop Zoetemelk holds aloft Tom Dumoulin's hand(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
There were hugs crowds in attendance for Dumoulin(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Maastricht masses celebrate Tom Dumoulin's Giro win(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
One year ago, Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) was a time trial specialist and outside Grand Tour contender. Now the Giro d'Italia winner, the Dutchman has proved to be such an inspiration that his fans turned out by the thousands to attend a celebration of his victory in Maastricht, the capital city of the Limburg province of the Netherlands.
Dumoulin staged a come-from-behind overall victory on the final time trial of the Italian Grand Tour to unseat Movistar's Nairo Quintana, winning the race by 31 seconds after three weeks and 3,609.1 kilometres of racing.
But his success overshadowed that of his compatriot Jos van Emden, who won the final stage, and during the celebration on Wednesday, Dumoulin handed the microphone over to the LottoNL-Jumbo rider.
"It was a great day for Dutch cycling. Not only for me but also for Jos," Dumoulin said, looking somewhat uncomfortable to be on stage in front of such a large crowd.
Soon, Dumoulin was sharing the spotlight with the greats who came before him, Jan Janssen and Joop Zoetemelk, the only other Dutch Grand Tour winners.
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