Giro 2024: Disappointed Thymen Arensman does not talk to the media, father deletes striking tweet

Thymen Arensman did not speak to the press on Saturday after losing time in the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia. The Dutch classification rider was disappointed after the finish in Turin, where he lost 2.17 minutes to Tadej Pogačar, and immediately boarded the team bus. Also be there cool down he did not want to talk to the media. Geraint Thomas and sports director Zak Dempster did comment on the Dutchman at GCN.

Of all the classification riders, Arensman was the first to have to let go in the stage to Turin. It was already too fast for the number six of the Giro 2023 on the Colle Maddalena. He eventually finished 47th and was given more than two minutes to top favorite Pogačar and several other favorites for a good final ranking. Due to the stage victory and pink jersey for INEOS teammate Jhonatan Narvaez, this remained somewhat underexposed afterwards.

“To be honest, Thymen was not where he wanted to be in the Tour de Romandie,” sports director Dempster told GCN. “But on the other hand, we are talking about someone of 24 who has never had a bad third week in a Grand Tour. That is a certainty for him. What is important now is that the team stays close to him. We believe in Thymen and we are going to take care of him to ensure that he remains involved in this process.”

“We have no doubt about Thymen’s capabilities, but tonight he needs an arm around his shoulder if we are to win Johnny going to celebrate,” says Dempster.

‘We have every confidence that Thymen will be there again’
Geraint Thomas noted that Arensman was not the only classification rider who struggled in the difficult opening stage. “We heard on the team radio that a few boys had been released. It was not only Thymen, but also Bardet who released when a solid pace was set,” said the British leader. “Everyone reacts differently.”

“But when we arrive in the final week, the feeling is so different with fifteen days of racing in our legs and everything that comes with it. I have every confidence that Thymen will make a full recovery and will be there.”

Father Arensman deletes striking tweet
It was also striking that his father Martijn Arensman commented on X (formerly Twitter) about his son’s loss of time. “The best thing about the start of a Grand Tour is that no trainer can fine-tune a cyclist’s form over the next three weeks. Hopefully it won’t be too screwed up for a while,” he wrote. Father Arensman has now deleted that tweet and protected his account.