Arensman needs more TT-kilometers to reach the podium: our five Giro-conclusions

Three weeks of racing in Italy always produce interesting storylines. This Giro d'Italia turned out to be unsurprising for the general classification because of the dominance of Visma | Lease a Bike, but on the sidelines, a number of things caught our attention.

1. Vingegaard Unsettles Pogacar

Our main conclusion? As our co-editor-in-chief Raymond Kerckhoffs already wrote: this Jonas Vingegaard is ready to challenge Tadej Pogacar in the Tour de France. During the three weeks of racing, we never saw a vulnerable Jonas Vingegaard. Uphill he could often match riders like Felix Gall, Jai Hindley, and Thymen Arensman, without ever showing moments of weakness himself. And that despite Vingegaard falling ill midway through the Giro.

The Dane has repeatedly stated that his true big goal lies in July in France, and that by then he needs to be even better. He often feels stronger in his second Grand Tour of the year. We saw that last year in the Vuelta as well. Besides Vingegaard, the entire Visma | Lease a Bike squad deserves credit. Not just stage winner Sepp Kuss, but also Victor Campenaerts, Davide Piganzoli, Tim Rex, and others consistently punched above their weight.

2. Arensman Needs More Time Trial Kilometers to Reach the Podium

His dream was to reach the podium. Thymen Arensman ultimately did not achieve this, but in his eleventh Grand Tour, he made his best effort yet. In the end, the Dutch rider from Netcompany INEOS fell just half a minute short of Jai Hindley. On the climbs during the final weekend, he was clearly weaker than the riders ahead of him, so Arensman was content with fourth place. He also never lost form, unlike in the past when a weaker opening week caused him to falter.

What could improve for the former Tour de France stage winner? We think the route, at this moment. With only 42 flat kilometers against the clock, time trial kilometers were scarce. Yet Arensman proved to be the best time trialist among all the GC contenders. When he can better leverage that advantage in a future Grand Tour, the podium will be even closer.

3. Unibet Rose Rockets Defend Themselves, Picnic PostNL Raisin Invisible

For Picnic PostNL Raisin, this Giro is one to quickly forget. No surprise they are languishing at the bottom of the prize money ranking per team. French climber Warren Barguil tried several times to get in breakaways but never went beyond ninth place during those attempts. Sprinter Casper van Uden, who won a stage in 2025, was stuck in tenth place. They were barely visible on screen, which is somewhat undignified for a WorldTeam.

The Unibet Rose Rockets showed a more positive display. Without the crashes involving Dylan Groenewegen and Elmar Reinders in the sprint stage to Naples, they might have had a result to show for it. Their sprint train was definitely on point, with everyone contributing their part. Early in the race Groenewegen also put in strong sprints, but towards the end his speed seemed to fade. A victory was never in reach. Veteran Wout Poels showed himself to be sometimes rock solid on the climbs but was not rewarded.

4. Without Leaders, UAE and Bahrain Victorious Ride Aggressively

For UAE Emirates, this has been an interesting test case. Leader Adam Yates dropped out early after a crash, giving the other riders free rein. UAE transformed into a breakaway-focused team and they made the most of it. Jhonatan Narvaez was successful early on, winning three stages, while Igor Arrieta also rose above himself with a stage win. Not a single day passed without UAE attacking.

This is in stark contrast to the controlling race style the team of Mauro Gianetti normally employs. They usually dominate races to protect leader Tadej Pogacar, but this time they raced with a style that was enjoyable to watch. Bahrain Victorious looked almost identical. Team leader Santiago Buitrago dropped out early, allowing Afonso Eulalio, Damiano Caruso, and Alec Segaert the chance to shine.

5. Soudal Quick-Step Has a Leader Again Thanks to Magnier

After a less impressive spring season, Soudal Quick-Step demonstrated again in the Giro why it remains one of the world’s best teams. They already had a tightly knit squad, and now their leader also delivered again. Jurgen Foré’s team has long believed in Paul Magnier, and the young talent suddenly won everything that was up for grabs. Credit must also go to his excellent team train with Jasper Stuyven and Fabio Van den Bossche.

Everyone can lift themselves to such a leader, that is clear. This makes it even more impressive how the other Belgian team, Lotto-Intermarché, bounced back so well after the loss of leaders Arnaud De Lie and Lennert Van Eetvelt. Simone Gualdi was a regular attacker, and thanks to Toon Aerts, an unexpected top result materialized. Behind Alec Segaert, the Campine rider won the peloton sprint. In his first Grand Tour, he surprised friend and foe alike, which is very promising.