"Rome is still far away" - INEOS DS refuses to give up despite hefty Giro time loss on stage 7 ITT 'We are not the first team to be slaughtered by Tadej Pogacar'

With Filippo Ganna, Magnus Sheffield and Thymen Arensman in the top 4 for the INEOS Grenadiers on stage 7 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia's individual time-trial, it was a solid performance for the team despite Geraint Thomas losing time.

"I didn't expect this result, but it is a good idea for the rest of the Giro," Arensman reflected with delight in his post-stage interview after finishing 4th on the day, losing a respectable 1:00 to the eventual stage winner, Tadej Pogacar. As as result of his performance, the Dutchman has risen to 11th overall, just 25 seconds off the top-10.

With teammates Filippo Ganna and Magnus Sheffield 2nd and 3rd on the stage, it was a great performance by the INEOS Grenadiers, despite some time loss by Geraint Thomas. "We can thank Zak Dempster, but actually the entire team, for that. They have done all the explorations and it is nice to see that it is partly paying off," Arensman analyses. "I have to give the team a very nice compliment for that."

"We are not the first team to be slaughtered by Pogacar, but we certainly won't be the last either. I think our men rode a very good time trial, especially with Filippo, Thymen and Magnus. G came up a bit short on that last climb, we have to be honest. However, Rome is still far away," reflected INEOS Grenadiers sports director Dempster to In de Leiderstrui.