On Sunday, Tom Dumoulin will be at the start of Paris-Nice. However, the Dutchman has not had the best preparation for the Race to the Sun. Since the last training camp in Spain, he has been suffering from a stomach virus.

"It is too bad because I had a good feeling. I was confident that I could do very well," the Giant-Alpecin rider told NOS. "I was going for the GC and wanted to score WorldTour points so I targeted a top 10. Now I don’t know if it will be possible.

"I had three days where I couldn’t do anything. I suffered from a stomach virus. Yesterday I could again ride for three hours but that doesn’t change a lot.”

Dumoulin has now recovered. "I am no longer sick. I can eat normally but on the bike I cannot digest anything." Dumoulin does no longer know what to expect from the second WorldTour event of the year. "I only have three days of training to reach a higher level.”

After his fourth place in the Tour Down Under, he has spent more than a month off the bike. “I have been a week in Mallorca and have also done a lot at home. Now I have been here in Spain for a few days.”

He still looks at the positive aspects. "I could have fallen ill on Sunday. At least I will be at the start.” How Dumoulin will handle the mountains if the main question. Especially the sixth stage is difficult with three first category climbs and three in the second category.

"I have not taken a closer look at the stages. I have only read about them. We have especially been busy with the bike for the final time trial on the Col d'Eze. Every year that is every year a case of finding the right equipment. Richie Porte has won there on a normal bike, with an aerobar, while Bradley Wiggins won with a time trial bike," says Dumoulin.

“What I will use? I am not going to reveal that to my rivals. But it is going to be good,” he says.