Thymen Arensman shrugs off GC ambitions: "We are here with Romain for a good classification"

Thymen Arensman has been on an impressive run this spring, and will be the main domestique for Romain Bardet in the high mountains of the Giro d'Italia throughout this month. Team DSM have a diamond in the rough, and he will be making his debut in the Italian Grand Tour with controlled expectations.

After finishing in third place at the Tour of the Alps, at the end of a strong spring, naturally he was asked about his ambitions towards the overall classification - and perhaps the youth jersey too. However, Arensman shrugged off any pressure: “That's not a goal at all. We are here with Romain for a good classification. I'm very motivated to help him. We are here to get him as close as possible to the pink jersey and the white jersey is therefore not a target at all."

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In 2018, Arensman finished the Tour de l'Avenir in second place, behind only Tadej Pogacar - and in front of Aleksandr Vlasov and Gino Mäder, first and second at last week's Tour de Romandie. Therefore the Dutchman has been for years touted as a Grand Tour contender in the making, however it is seemingly not going to be the case in this Giro.

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It will be in the future though, and he's looking to take experience from this supporting role. "That's also why I'm here. I can learn a lot from him and gain experience. For me as a young rider it makes a lot of sense to learn from someone with so much experience. If I'm ever good enough, maybe I can go for a final classification myself in the future," he added.

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“We have a good preparation, also for the third week, because it is very tough. But we should also not underestimate the first and second week, with some treacherous hill stages. They are also quite difficult. A lot can happen, so we have to stay focused and then we'll see how the legs are going to be in the third week," Arensman concluded.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL

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