"Everyone can train hard, but not everyone can rest hard" - Thymen Arensman learned about importance of resting the hard way during Giro d'Italia

On Sunday, Thymen Arensman will enter his already fifth Vuelta a Espana at the age of just 24. Arensman had only returned to racing last week at Vuelta a Burgos following a two-month break after busy spring which culminated with sixth place at Giro d'Italia. However the Italian GrandTour was far from flawless for Arensman, who is well aware of the mistakes he made prior the race.

"I did learn lessons from it," Arensman confesses to IDLProCycling. "I pushed myself too much and was too enthusiastic about the preparation: I tried to be too lightweight, train an hour too much, and so forth. That also kind of explained why I lost time those first days in the Giro and why I ended up gaining five kilos. My cortisol levels were just way too high."

"Your body, of course, gives signals: maybe you should do a little less, and you're tired. But there is such an incredible drive inside that you want to do well and perform. It is difficult to accept that less is more, but it is also very logical: everyone can train hard, but not everyone can rest hard. While it is essential, the more you rest, the harder you can eventually train again. If you skip that step, you go to ruin it. But in the end, it was just still a nice Giro. A sixth place isn't bad, of course."

Arensman and Carlos Rodriguez are expected to share leadership in Spain: "I can say that it is the first big tour communicated like that, and we start with two leaders: Carlos and me. But in the Giro, I also already had a protected role, knowing that a podium place with G was more important than my sixth place. That's ultimately the same here: if Carlos can win or ride the podium and I ride for sixth again, I'm also happy to help him. And it's the same the other way around," he notes.