“In the team car, the dashboard was smashed in half” – Netcompany INEOS left fuming as Thymen Arensman starts Tour de France time trial 15 seconds late
CyclingTuesday, 21 July 2026 at 17:22
Netcompany INEOS were left furious after a start-line error cost Thymen Arensman around 15 seconds in the stage 16 individual time trial at the Tour de France.
Arensman was due to begin his 26.1-kilometre effort from Evian-les-Bains at 4.25pm, but the Dutchman was still inside the start area as the countdown reached zero. He eventually hurried onto the ramp and began his ride more than 10 seconds after the clock had started.
The mistake proved especially costly when Arensman reached the finish in Thonon-les-Bains just five seconds slower than provisional leader Mattia Cattaneo.
Arensman remained in the tent as countdown began
NOS commentator Sebastiaan Timmerman witnessed the confusion unfold at the start. “Arensman just stayed in the tent while they were counting down,” Timmerman said during the television broadcast. “Someone from ASO ran over to him, while a team staff member was standing there with his bike.”
Arensman eventually jumped onto the bike and rushed towards the start ramp, shaking his head as he began his effort against the clock.
The responsibility for the delay appeared to fall on the organisation around the rider rather than Arensman alone. “He suddenly jumped onto the bike and rode towards the ramp,” Timmerman continued. “The team staff dropped the ball. In the team car, the dashboard was smashed in half out of frustration.”
Costly delay denies Arensman the hot seat
Despite the chaotic beginning, Arensman produced one of the strongest rides of the day. He was already among the fastest riders at the opening checkpoint despite the lost time being included in his official result. Arensman continued to close on Cattaneo through the climb and technical descent, reducing his deficit to less than a second at the final intermediate check.
Cattaneo finished strongly over the flatter closing kilometres and retained the lead by five seconds. With Arensman having started around 15 seconds late, his actual riding time would have been comfortably faster than the Italian’s provisional benchmark. Instead of taking the hot seat, he was left to consider a potentially decisive failure before the time trial had properly begun.
The result also denied Netcompany INEOS the chance to move to the top of the standings after Joshua Tarling and Filippo Ganna had earlier occupied second and third.
For a team built around marginal gains and precise preparation, the sight of one of its riders missing a Tour de France start time was a particularly damaging mistake. Arensman did almost everything required once he was on the road, but the stage clock had already taken away his chance of leading.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- What are you on about? I was taking about UCI fines not fines given to the general public?? Where is the outlay not being worth it when a rider for instance is fined 500 CHF for not presenting a bike in time for inspection. Then a further 500 CHF for that riders DS for the same offence.Alex Baudin was fined 500 CHF for taking a feed on foot outside the designated feeding zone. His sports director, Charles Wegelius, was also fined 500 CHF. Easy money I would say for minimal outlay!Cyclingsbestfan21-07-2026
- So a Dutch guy says something in not his native language, and people jump in as hard as they can to slaughter him! If everything that comes out of our mouths is dissected like this, we’d all constantly be looking like idiots. I’d be pretty certain he’s not claiming or imagining they were in control of the winning of the race, and I’d just cut him some slack!AndrewK21-07-2026
- Considering the level of superstardom he has achieved he remains remarkably down to earth and comes across as an all round pretty good person.mobk21-07-2026
- What a terrible crash. May he recover quickly and well. He’s been racing very well, and Remco was going to need him in the coming mountain stages.RidesHills21-07-2026
- OK, this is my take: Jonas didn't want to crash and break his collar bone... BUT ... at this moment Jonas, despite his injury, looks like he's in a good mood. Do you all know why? Because he knew, his team knew, they will never beat Pogačar...NEVER !!! Jonas is thinkig; "Thank god, it's over. My suffering against Pogi is over. Officially I didn't lose TdF, because I didn't finish." There will always be some people who will say "Maybe Jonas would have won if he hadn't crashed, you never know." We all see what BS is coming out of Marc Reef's mouth: "We had the race in our hands, and we were ready to give it a shot with him." ... He's trying to tell us between the lines: "Pogi is lucky, that Jonas crashed, he would have beaten him in week three, and won TdF." What a clown!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales21-07-2026
- Terrible news of Florian Lipowitz crashing out. Wish him speedy recovery. It just reinforces the fact that victory is never certain until a rider crosses the finish line in Paris. I think the top 3 podium spots are going to be fought between Pogacar, Remco, Del Toro and Seixas barring any accidents.
PogiFan2Day21-07-2026 - If Paul rides within himself and only nears red on the final three mountain stages he will be on the podium. I said before the Tour started I didn't expect anything from him this Tour and that a top five, even a top ten would be an absolute success beyond imagination, being this is his first GT, if he podiums he needs to take a deal with Ineos immediately and he needs to run that team like Wiggins and Froome did.awp21-07-2026
- They didn't have the race in hand, they had the podium in hand.awp21-07-2026
- INEOS is getting worse. Not a top dog anymore.
KerisVroom21-07-2026 - They are testing but are they Lance era testing or active testing. Lance era was "oh, looks a bit high but he is a big drawl...it's fine". Active is, positive pull them out of the race and banmd197521-07-2026
Loading
1 Comments