Thymen Arensman is not a stranger to the pressures of Grand Tour competition, having finished 12th at the Tour de France, and in the top-10 at the Vuelta a España and two previous editions of the Giro d'Italia.
In a virtual press conference with select members of the media including Cyclingnews on the Giro's rest day outside of Milan on Monday, the Netcompany-Ineos leader explained that while he is pleased with his performance so far, he's starting to feel the strain of the first two weeks of racing, adding that the pressures that go along with being a team leader are catching up with him, making it difficult to stay 'switched on'.
"Really good, I think," Arensman said of his general feelings heading into week three.
"Of course, everyone is getting tired after 15 stages in a Grand Tour. It's been really tough racing, and every day we are on the pedals, so of course, it gets into the legs, the body and the mind, of course."
"It's tough riding GC and trying to stay switched on every day, but I have to say, my teammates and my team are doing a super good job for me; keeping me as fresh as possible, as motivated as possible. I really can't complain, and I'm really happy with how it is going."
Arensman came out of the first nine days of racing finishing 10th on Blockhaus on stage 7 and 4th on Corno alle Scale on stage 9. He sat in sixth place overall, five minutes behind the previous race leader Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious).
A reshuffle of the overall classification on the decisive stage 10 time-trial into Massa saw Arensman take second place on the day behind his teammate Filippo Ganna, but more importantly, move up to third place overall and pull significant time back on favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
On the upper slopes of the final climb to Pila on stage 14, Arensman struggled to stay with eventual stage winner Vingegaard, who took over the maglia rosa. He finished 1:23 behind the Dane in sixth place and slipped one spot to fourth in the GC standings, surpassed by Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM).
'Really tough stages' to come in final week
Arensman said he was happy with his performance on that stage and that it was important that he remained in the hunt for an overall podium at this Giro d'Italia.
"Good to hear this feedback, I think I did a pretty good performance [on stage 14 to Pila] because I did my absolute best and really went as fast as possible, as I could," he said, noting the warmer temperatures that were upwards of 30C and how that affected many riders in the peloton.
"Also, on that day, in the heat, it was so hard to race. With all the bottles that the team got me and my teammates got me and the extra feeds, I could really do my best performance possible. I would say it was a pretty good performance."
As the Giro d'Italia heads into the third and final week, Vingegaard leads the classification by 2:26 ahead of second-place Eulálio, 2:50 ahead of third-place Gall. Arensmen in fourth at 3:03 back, with the podium still within reach.
There is still a lot of climbing left in this Giro d'Italia, which includes a challenging back-to-back finale on stage 19 at Alleghe (Piani di Pezzè) and stage 20 at Piancavallo, and Arensman is as well-prepared as he can be, having previewed both stages earlier this year. However, he remains cautious about making any predictions.
"I reconned stages 19 and 20 after the Tour of the Alps, and they are some really tough stages. It is so hard to predict what will happen in the third week. I can feel the legs and the body. The human body is a special thing, and it can react every day differently," he said.
"We already saw so many changes, so honestly, the only thing I can do is try to do everything that I am doing. Stay in my routines and try to deliver my absolute best performances. I have to try to be ready for everything for those two stages and hope for the best legs of my life."
Words of wisdom from a Grand Tour winner
As for leading Netcompany-Ineos at this Giro d'Italia, Cyclingnews spoke with his teammate and former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Egan Bernal, who said he has offered Arensman some guidance when it comes to all of the aspects of being a team leader, particularly physical performance, pressures, and media obligations.
"We try to have good communication. On this team, the communication is everything, and we are super serious about this, so we try to communicate as much as we can. I can't do too much. But in the end, I don't think it's a big deal to talk with the press," Bernal said.
"After the stage, we do a briefing on how the stage went. And I think he is going well; in the end, he is up there. Some days you can be a bit better, other days not as good, but he is there, so now we have a rest day, so we will see how he does next week."
Asked what the biggest piece of advice Bernal can give to Arensman in his journey at this Giro d'Italia, Bernal said to just enjoy his successes so far, and not think too much about what is coming in the final week.
"I think he just needs to enjoy the place where he is right now. He is fighting for a podium spot in a super-hard Giro. It is never easy to be up there, and sometimes we normalise having this position, but it is not easy," Bernal said.
"My best advice is that he has to enjoy this moment, and then the results will come."
In kind, Arensman spoke of Bernal's continued mentorship and leadership, and said he has relied on his support over the last two weeks of racing.
"Egan is a big champion, on the bike, of course, but also 100% off the bike. I can learn a lot from him. Of course, he is also tired and has little pains like everyone in the bunch, but you never hear him complain. He just gets on with it, cracks a joke and is positive. It goes a long way in just a tough and demanding Giro, I think," Arensman said.
"Also, how he talks with teammates and staff and smiling, everyone knows Egan is smiling to everyone, and I'm sure he has his troubles, but you just don't really see it. That is contagious, I think. He is a big champion, and it is super nice to share the leadership here with him."
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