"My strongest years are coming": Thymen Arensman feels ready to fight for 2026 Giro d'Italia podium

On Wednesday, Thymen Arensman's 2026 campaign got underway with a participation at the Volta ao Algarve. Thus, the 26-year-old's fourth season with INEOS Grenadiers gets underway with eyes on the Giro d'Italia and later this summer also the Tour de France.

"I'm mainly focused on the Giro," Arensman implied in a conversation with the NOS, regarding his Tour de France return. "I'm busy enough with that, after that, we'll see. It's up to the team."

Even though Arensman is far from being the absolute leader at INEOS, the Dutchman aspires to rise up to that role over the coming seasons. And ideally by starting to deliver results as soon as possible. "I think my strongest years are coming. Then it's an ideal time to use those years to aim for GC positions."

And if that doesn't work out? Arensman still sees a meaningful career path ahead of himself: "I hope to continue for another nine or ten years, and in the last few years I can always go for stages like Bauke [Mollema] or Wout [Poels]."

The 2026 Giro d'Italia might see much less fierce battle for maglia rosa than last year's edition when Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz fought an epic duel on the flanks of Colle delle Finestre only for both to succumb to their tactics and pass the overall triumph to the unexpected champion Simon Yates. This time around, Jonas Vingegaard emerges as a clear favourite, but behind the Dane, remaining podium spots are up for grabs.

And as Arensman has some unfinished business with the Italian Grand Tour, where he failed to tick off any of his pre-race goals in 2025 despite a strong gravel stage, the Dutchman is excited this time to finish off the job: "Last year I could definitely have finished in the top five, or maybe even on the podium, if I hadn't gotten sick and crashed," he notes.

Even though the 26-year-old had a successful Tour de France with iconic back-to-back victories in the mountains of Grande Boucle's final week of the race, he's not looking to build on that success in the immediate future, stating his intentions to start in Barcelona only very carefully: "I think both are possible. I've always done two Grand Tours in recent years."

The double-appearance of Alpe d'Huez is definitely a motivating factor for Arensman, however it's not all about this single ascent: "But first, you have to show up at the starting line. It's an iconic mountain for Dutch cycling. I used to go there with my parents. And I rode it when I was little; it's a really cool climb. It's going to be a fantastic stage, whether I'm there or not."

INEOS Grenadiers have made acquired some talented GC riders on the transfer market past winter with 2025 Tour's number 4 Oscar Onley and number 7 Kévin Vauquelin, both younger than Arensman, who doesn't feel like his position is being threatened by their arrival: "I think we can only make each other stronger. Ultimately, cycling is incredibly simple; it's all about the legs. We usually don't have the absolute favorite, which gives us a lot of opportunities and a lot of freedom."

"What I'm saying is, I'm not taking it too seriously. It's just cycling. I do what I have to do and I try to enjoy life and make the best of it. It's all manageable for me now, but if something happens next year and I don't enjoy it anymore, I'll gladly quit."