Grand Tour star Tom Dumoulin will delay his return to racing, skipping an altitude camp and Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo.

Dumoulin has not raced since pulling out of the Critérium du Dauphiné in June 2019, suffering knee problems from a Giro d'Italia crash and dealing with team issues. He joined his home Dutch team Jumbo-Visma this winter. He was due to start in the Volta a Valenciana. He pulled out on the eve of the race and overnight, another setback, announcing it on Instagram.

"Unfortunately I had to abandon Valencia last week," the 29-year-old Dutchman wrote.

"I would've flown to altitude camp this Thursday to prepare the next races, but we have to postpone until I feel 100% again.

"We will change my racing schedule by skipping Tirreno and MSR to allow me the time I need to get back on full strength again."

Neither team nor Dumoulin have yet to release the new plan. He is building for the 2020 Tour de France and to be one of the team's three leaders with Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk.

"It's such a shame because I was feeling amazing and I couldn't wait for the season to start. Too bad I need to wait a little longer now. To quote the famous philosopher RUN DMC: ? 'It's like that, and that's the way it is.'"

He won the 2017 Giro d'Italia and World Champion time trial, and placed second in both the 2018 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. He crashed this May in Giro's stage four and injured his left knee.

He told FloBikes last month, "It'd been Hell until like the summer. But as soon as soon as I knew my future and with my knee, so I had my second operation, I knew that it was going to be all right."