Thymen Arensman hopes to be an important factor for INEOS Grenadiers in final week

Thymen Arensman finished 7th in the second time trial of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday. Arensman said that he had just enjoyed cycling. That ultimately resulted in a seventh fastest time, 22 seconds behind day winner Remco Evenepoel.

How did the Dutchman himself think it was going? “Just fine. Nothing special,” he told Eurosport as he was cycling out on the rollers. He finished inside the Top10 on what was his best performance of the race so far, a much needed result after a week in which he still hasn't felt the same as last year.

The INEOS Grenadiers rider is now 12th in the general classification, 2:32 behind the classification leader, his teammate Geraint Thomas. Tao Geoghegan Hart, the other leader of the British formation, occupies third place. He is five seconds behind Thomas.

Arensman could have been even closer in the standings, but had some bad luck on Saturday during the 8th stage. “That was a bit of a frustrating day,” he said. “But I am very happy with how Tao and G rode. As for myself, in the run-up to the long climb, two UAE riders stopped at the corner. I rode right into it. My thumb, my nail here, and my chest hurt a lot. But that is part of it."

After that, Arensman said he rode a good last climb. “On top, I wanted to switch to the outer chainring, but my chain fell off. I couldn't get it on while riding, so I had to get off the bike. I think I spent half a minute there messing with my chain. Belongs. Well, it's not really part of it, but it's no different. You have to accept it. I then tried to limit the damage so that in the second and third week I can still be an important factor for the team, for G and Tao. It wasn't bad for us as a team."

With Thomas now in the lead of the race, Arensman will most likely take on a bigger supporting role. However, he enters stage 10 as 12th in the overall classification, 2:32 minutes behind the Welshman.