Thymen Arensman proud of step forward: puzzle pieces are falling into place

He missed the final podium by just half a minute, but Thymen Arensman can live with that after the Giro d'Italia. With a fourth place, he achieved his best overall result ever in a Grand Tour.

"I don't know if I surprised myself, but I am very happy that I performed consistently at a very high level for three weeks. I didn’t really have a bad day, and when I had to be there, I was there. I delivered my performance every day," he honestly says on In de Leiderstrui. "The time trial with Filippo Ganna on day ten was definitely a highlight, the 1-2 finish is something to be proud of."

In the past, Arensman always had to make up time in the last week after a slower start. This time, that was not the case for the first time. "I am very proud of the progress I have made," said Arensman. "Slowly but surely the pieces of the puzzle are coming together, and it’s great to be able to show that here. I can be very satisfied with it."

"When I wanted to be there, my body responded well enough. Because of that, I was able to deliver a good performance," he states. According to the Dutchman, he got to know himself better and thus took a step forward. "It’s in nutrition, but also in other aspects. I learned a lot and took all that with me, but it’s still not easy to do that for three or four weeks."

His conclusion? "I stayed in a podium position for a very long time. As I always say: I do my utmost best and there are so many things you can’t control. If a few things go a bit better, it can work out once."