“He has worked on it just as hard as on his training” - Geraint Thomas reveals mental shift behind Thymen Arensman’s Tour de France rise

Thymen Arensman is set to return to the Tour de France with a different status inside Netcompany INEOS. After two mountain stage wins in last year’s race and a career-best fourth overall at the Giro d’Italia this spring, the Dutchman has become one of the team’s most important cards heading towards Barcelona.

The build-up around INEOS has changed sharply in recent days. Oscar Onley has been ruled out through injury, Kevin Vauquelin has had illness to manage, and Daniel Benson has reported that the likely Tour selection is built around Egan Bernal, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tobias Foss, Vauquelin, Filippo Ganna, Arensman, Dorian Godon and Josh Tarling.

If confirmed, it would point towards a squad with huge time-trial power and several stage-winning routes, rather than one traditional protected GC leader.

Arensman fits neatly into that picture. Speaking to WielerFlits, Geraint Thomas praised the 26-year-old’s progression and said his recent rise has come from more than simply producing better climbing numbers.

“His fourth place in the Giro was a big success for us,” said Thomas, the 2018 Tour de France winner and now part of the Netcompany INEOS management structure. “I think Thymen was super consistent. He really took a good step forward compared with previous Grand Tours where he rode for the general classification.”

Arensman had already twice finished sixth at the Giro and once fifth at the Vuelta a Espana, but his fourth place in May marked another step in a career that has increasingly moved him towards the front rank of Grand Tour riders.

According to WielerFlits, both Thomas and Dave Brailsford have pointed to the role of sports psychiatrist Steve Peters, who has worked with major names from the old Team Sky era including Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Thomas and Chris Hoy.

“I think Peters has also helped Thymen with his overall view of cycling and how he deals with certain situations. Such as situations where he is under high pressure,” Thomas explained. “Thymen really believes in it and has worked on it just as hard as on his training. He took this very seriously and you can see that.”

“I was going to say that he saw immediate results from it, but that is not true,” Thomas added. “Thymen has worked hard on it for months, but now it is showing him that it has really brought him something.”

Arensman’s 2025 Tour de France already gave INEOS a clear sign of what he could be in July. He became the first Dutchman to win mountain stages in both the Alps and Pyrenees in the same Tour, taking victory at Superbagneres before adding another on La Plagne.

Those wins mattered inside the team as much as they did on the results sheet. Thomas believes they helped shift Arensman’s confidence before his Giro breakthrough this season.

“Those successes strengthened his confidence,” he said. “From there, he has really grown. He has also put a lot of work in; a lot of work at home behind the scenes. Also in his approach to the race and everything that comes with it. It is not just physically going out there and pushing the pedals.”

After the Giro, Arensman returned to Andorra to recover before continuing his altitude work towards the Tour. Thomas says INEOS hope the Dutchman can ride with a similar freedom to last year, when he was able to target stages rather than carry the burden of a three-week GC campaign.

“We hope he can ride a similar race to last year,” Thomas said. “Without pressure for the general classification, but to support the team and hopefully also get some chances himself to go for stage wins. For us, it is also important that he continues the progress he showed at the Giro.”

The loss of Onley changes the complexion of the INEOS Tour. Last year’s fourth-place finisher had been expected to form part of a wider GC group, and his absence leaves Vauquelin and Arensman as two of the most obvious climbing options if the team want to stay present near the top of the race.

Thomas, though, was careful not to turn Arensman’s Tour into a pure GC project. A short classification could still be useful, particularly in the opening phase of the race, but stage wins and flexibility look like the more realistic route.

“Even if he is not riding for the general classification, there are still points to work on and to keep improving,” Thomas said. “I am in any case very happy to see the steps he has already taken this season.”

Asked about the value of keeping several riders high on GC early in the race, Thomas did not close the door. “Yes, I think as long as you can play them, it makes sense,” he said. “There is no point having guys there who, at some point, all get dropped at the same time. But I think we absolutely have a few strong guys and, if you can get everyone to the start line in top form, that certainly gives you cards to play and options.”

That gives Arensman a valuable but awkwardly balanced Tour role. He is not being pushed forward as the outright leader, yet he is no longer just a breakaway wildcard either. In a reported INEOS lineup loaded with time-trial power through Ganna, Tarling and Foss, his climbing form and Grand Tour consistency give the team one of its clearest routes into the high mountains.