"His potential is enourmous": Geraint Thomas believes Thymen Arensman is finally ready to lead INEOS at Giro d'Italia

INEOS Grenadiers can be overly satisfied with the outcome of the opening time trial of this year's Tirreno-Adriatico. Not only has Filippo Ganna secured a dominant victory, his success was underlined by GC leader Thymen Arensman's second place on the day while Magnus Sheffield jumped into the lead of youth classification with a 4th time of the stage. But it is Arensman's performance that is particularly encouraging, as the 26-year-old Dutchman made a big step towards overall result, even though the race remains completely open.

For Arensman, it is quite unusual to reach this high level so early into the season. However sports director Geraint Thomas who has followed the Dutchman's progression closely over these years is convinced today's result was merely a sign of further progress the 26-year-old has taken on his path to becoming a serious GC contender.

The following stages are unfortunately not as fitting for the lean climber as there are no long summit finishes on the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico course. But it will be a great test ahead of Arensman's big goals later this year; Giro d'Italia - where he aims for general classification - and Tour de France - where he wishes to build on his two stage wins in 2025.

"What Thymen did last year was incredible," Thomas begins at WielerFlits, looking back at Arensman's 2025 Tour de France. "I think everyone will agree, especially that second stage he won, where it was a real man-to-man battle," Thomas said, referring to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard breaking away on La Plagne. "He really took a step forward last year. We all knew he'd already achieved good results, but last year was on a different level."

Thomas immediately sees that the Tour victories brought about a much-needed confidence boost for his underclassman. Suddenly, Arensman was able to (almost) win a flat 11.5-kilometer time trial on first stage of a race. Compared to past year's Giro where Arensman lost several minutes before the GC battle even started, the shift in mentality is fathomable.

"Thymen has now brought that confidence with him, and I think he's maturing as an athlete. Yes, the potential is enormous," says Arensman's former teammate.

Last winter, the British team kept the pressure off the Dutch climber. "It's mainly a matter of keeping things simple and focusing on the important things, and not worrying about them. 'A simple life is an elite life' is a phrase we use a lot."

But in terms of preparation, INEOS and Arensman have not changed much, trusting the methods that saw Arensman perform well at occasions already in 2025. "He has a good, solid foundation with his coach, Adrian Lopez, and the staff behind the scenes. He's just taken it easy and quietly, and that seems to be working well for him," Thomas explains.

"There will be setbacks, of course. That's part of the sport, so you have to make sure you learn to roll with the punches. But he's definitely put himself in a great position to attack this year with everything he's got."

The plan for 2026 is the same as year prior, except the desired outcome needs to be vastly better. Arensman will return to Corsa Rosa with yet another GC bid, facing off against Jonas Vingegaard, Joao Almeida or Mikel Landa. Unless Arensman would be to face a total meltdown, he should have until stage 7's finish on Blockhaus to get into a top racing shape even if the preparation is slightly off like in 2025.

"I think he should do what excites him most. He still wants to perform in the GC, so that makes sense," Thomas says, looking ahead to the Giro. "I think he has to go there with an open mind. The most important thing, and that's how I've always approached it, is to show up at the start in the best possible shape. From there, you attack as you see fit and as the race develops."

Ability to adapt is key, according to the 39-year-old Thomas: "That's the message I try to convey to most of the guys: stick to the basics, worry about the bigger picture, and don't worry about all those small percentages; they'll sort themselves out when necessary. It's about making it happen, and that's the attitude they've had so far, which is good to see," concludes the former Tour de France champion.