Yesterday, Thymen Arensman completed the first mountain stage of the Vuelta with the finish in Arinsal, securing the fifteenth place. He crossed the line 21 seconds after the stage winner, Remco Evenepoel. Subsequently, through the official INEOS Grenadiers team’s Twitter account, Arensman shared the details of his experience during the final ascent.
In a video that seems to have been recorded in the hotel lobby, the young Dutch cyclist talks about his day. He mentions that he and the team leader, Geraint Thomas, were positioned well by Filippo Ganna, among others, says Arensman.
Until UAE Team Emirates started to accelerate during the final climb. “It was going really well at the beginning. But when Ayuso attacked, I went beyond my limit. That was a rookie mistake. I shouldn’t have followed immediately; I should have ridden my own pace. I ended up losing some time because of that.”
“Normally, I’m not that strong in the first week, and I need the race rhythm to get better over the three weeks. For me, personally, this is a good result. Since I went beyond my limit, I simply couldn’t keep up with the main group, but from now on, it will only get better.”