"At the end, I was just one percent short" - Arensman nearly pulls off stage win in breakthrough Tour moment

Thymen Arensman came within meters of his first Tour de France stage victory on Tuesday, finishing second behind Simon Yates in the Massif Central. It was a long awaited result for the Dutch rider and a bright spot in an otherwise quiet race for INEOS Grenadiers.

“So close,” Arensman said with a tired smile on the team bus, summing up both his ride and the team’s frustration over the past ten days.

He was active from the start, controlling the front of the race and eventually forcing a selection in the breakaway. “I think the television viewers had a great day. I did 99 percent right. It was good to be in the leading group, and I tried to control everything as best as I could. Halfway through, I opened the throttle to thin out the leading group considerably."

But a moment of bad luck just before the final climb put him on the back foot. “At the end, I was just one percent short. Just before the climb, I almost crashed. I couldn't close the gap after that. Simon performed strongly and cleverly. I kept believing in him. With 500 meters to go, I came very close, but by then he could already see the finish. I was completely drained of energy after that grueling day. It's no shame to lose to a Giro winner.”

It was Arensman’s first real chance to show himself, after a first week filled with punchy terrain and flat finishes that didn’t suit his strengths. “The Tour has finally started for me. I needed a lot of patience with all those punchy and flat stages. Now we've finally ridden uphill for more than five minutes.”

He’s embraced the mixed role expected of a Tour debutant, fetching bottles, setting pace, and now chasing stage wins. Of course he would have loved to grab the stage win, but he is still content with his experience so far.

“It's great to experience my first Tour like this. Getting water bottles and leading the flat stages ahead of the other guys. I have the freedom to try to win a stage in the mountains. That's a nice combination. If I keep doing the right things, hopefully there's still something in store during the mountain stages with really long climbs.”

Asked about what’s next, he grinned. “Thursday?” he laughed, admitting he hadn’t memorized the route. That’s the day the peloton tackles its first summit finish to Hautacam. “Then Thursday, yes.”