Thymen Arensman leading INEOS Grenadiers resurgence at Paris-Nice: "With one more stage to go, I'm on the podium”

With just one stage remaining in Paris-Nice, Thymen Arensman finds himself third in the general classification, taking advantage of Mattias Skjelmose’s unfortunate crash and subsequent withdrawal from the race. The INEOS Grenadiers rider has been steadily working his way up the rankings and now stands on the verge of securing his best-ever result in a WorldTour stage race.

Reflecting on the challenging conditions of the race, Arensman took to social media to thank his team for their dedicated support. "Paris-Nice is more the race to the snow," he wrote. "I have to thank my teammates for the work they did. Hats off."

Despite his own success, the Dutchman was quick to acknowledge the misfortune of Skjelmose, who had been in third place until his nasty crash over traffic furniture on Stage 7 forced him out of the race. "With one more stage to go, I'm on the podium, but I feel very sorry for Mattias Skjelmose," Arensman said. "I hope Mattias is okay because it looked very bad after that crash due to the lack of signalling on a traffic island."

At 25 years old, Arensman has already demonstrated his ability as a strong general classification rider, with his best stage race results to date being sixth place at the Giro d'Italia in both 2023 and 2024, as well as sixth at the 2022 Vuelta a España. Now, he has a chance to secure his first podium finish in a WorldTour stage race.

INEOS Grenadiers have been one of the strongest teams at both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, with multiple riders showing strong form. At Paris-Nice, Arensman has consistently climbed the rankings, gradually edging his way onto the podium. His team played a crucial role in shaping the race, particularly on Stage 6, where they were instrumental in splitting the peloton in the crosswinds.

In Stage 7’s summit finish in Auron, Arensman crossed the line in 13th place, just behind teammate Magnus Sheffield, who sits sixth in the overall standings. Meanwhile, Tobias Foss, another aggressive rider from INEOS this week, dropped three places and is now ninth overall.

Heading into the final stage, Arensman trails race leader Matteo Jorgenson by 1:20 minutes and sits 43 seconds behind second-placed Florian Lipowitz. While overtaking Lipowitz for second place may be difficult, securing a podium spot would be a significant milestone in his career.