Arensman refuses to get carried away after Giro podium surge: 'A lot can still change'

Thymen Arensman (Netcompany-Ineos) has reflected on his stellar performance on stage 10’s individual time trial, which has built on his strong climbing performances on stages 7 and 9, propelling him on the virtual Giro d’Italia podium. 

It was a day of double delight for the British team on Tuesday. Filippo Ganna (Netcompany-Ineos) stormed to his eighth Giro stage win, while Arensman finished runner-up on the stage, the biggest gainer of the GC contenders. It was a performance that delighted Arensman as he joked about Ganna being in his own league. 

“Yeah, of course. I was really happy with my performance in the TT, but still almost 2 minutes behind Pippo Ganna,” Arensman told reporters at the start of stage 11. “That's really impressive from Pippo, but it also shows that the team did such a good job with the time trailing over the winter and to get a 1-2 with Pippo and me, yeah, that makes me quite proud.”

With his performance, Arensman has climbed his way from sixth to third in the GC, 1:57 off Afonso Eulálio and the maglia rosa, and 1:30 behind Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike). Despite his strong position, Arensman played down the idea that he has become Vingegaard’s main opponent as a result of the GC shake-up from the time trial.

"I don't know. I think it's only stage 11, and we have seen so many changes in the GC already. So it's so hard to predict. Like, even today it's already quite hard. So a lot of things can still change,” said Arensman. 

“It's so hard to predict. I wish I could, but everybody's always talking about the third week in the Giro, and even this week is quite hard. So many things can change.”

One clear positive for Arensman is the fact that he is already well placed on the podium, when typically, the Dutchman gets better as a Grand Tour grows older and is one of the strongest riders in the final week. 

Arensman isn’t getting ahead of himself, but his current standing and performances have given him plenty of confidence. 

“I really just try to do my best every day, and I did some really good performances that I can be proud of, but I can only control myself and not really the others,” said Arensman. “And if I just try to keep doing the same good things and try to keep my level, and maybe the others get weaker or more fatigued or whatever.

“Yeah, I can't control them. I can only control myself, and that's what I'm really focused on, and yeah, I just enjoy this real process with my teammates, and it's been enjoyable so far. So let's just keep this going, and we'll see where it ends.”