All eyes are on Jonas Vingegaard and Felix Gall at the on-going Giro d’Italia, however at least one rider has been ride a near-perfect race so far in the first block, allowing himself to sit sixth overall – fourth among “main” GC contenders – on the today’s rest day. Of course, the talk is about Thymen Arensman, who could be looking to move onto a provisional podium in Tuesday’s 40-kilometer time trial – his great discipline.
In past years, we have seen the Netcompany INEOS rider show many faces at a Grand Tour, but consistency has been a rare trait among all of them. But unlike year ago when at the Giro, Arensman was already two minutes off the front before the race had even begun, this team he’s right away in the mix. And as the Dutchman rarely gets worse as a Grand Tour progresses, the expectations are sky-high towards the second half of this Giro.
Michael Boogerd watched as Arensman tried to catch up with the leaders Jonas Vingegaard and Felix Gall, but was unable to: “He was struggling. I got a bit of a déjà vu to the stage in last year’s Giro d’Italia that Simon Yates won. Arensman hung back then too,” the former rider said on the Kop Over Kop show.