"When things aren't going well mentally, it's difficult to push your body to the limit" - Thymen Arensman reflects on difficult opening to Giro d'Italia 2024

After coming into the 2024 Giro d'Italia full of hope and optimism, Thymen Arensman has suffered a very disappointing opening weekend, falling completely out of GC contention.

After stage 1, Arensman's disappointing ride was thrown further into the spotlight by his father, who ranted on his official X (Twitter) account. "The nicest thing about starting a GT is that no trainer can screw up a cyclist form anymore for the next three weeks," Arensman Sr wrote on X. "Hopefully it won’t be too screwed up for now."

After avoiding the press on stage 2 due to the fallout to his father's tweet, Arensman reflected on a difficult few days pre-stage 3 with Eurosport. "It is what it is," he shrugs. "I had hoped that things would go a little better on the first day. At the beginning of a Grand Tour I always need time to get going. The first day was disappointing, yesterday it went a little better and I felt a little more power in my legs."

"I indeed had other things on my mind and that was not easy. When things aren't going well mentally, it's difficult to have to push your body to the limit and that made it very difficult to screw yourself up," Arensman admits. "Everything will get better from now on. The Giro is still very long and I am aiming for the third week anyway. It's not an ideal start anyway, but I'm still in good shape."

Despite his father's criticism of the INEOS Grenadiers, Arensman had some praise for his team. "The team responded very well to the first stage, which of course helped to cope with the disappointment. The team still fully supports me and still believes in me and that is very nice. I will continue to fight and do my best,” the Dutchman concluded.