Thymen Arensman never seriously considered a stage win during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France, although he started the ascent of Mont Ventoux on Wednesday as one of the leaders. The Dutchman finished twelfth.
“I had bad legs. I already felt that this morning,” Arensman said to the NOS shortly after the finish. “But I had to go in an early breakaway because no one from our team was there,” continued the INEOS Grenadiers rider. “Apparently, more riders in the team had bad legs.”
The 25-year-old Arensman won the fourteenth stage of this Tour on Saturday and seemed to have a serious chance of a second stage win on Tuesday. On paper, he was the strongest of the five riders who started the final climb of Mont Ventoux first. But in practice, little of that turned out to be true.
“This was the best I could make of it,” said Arensman, who crossed the finish line more than two minutes after the French winner Valentin Paret-Peintre.
“I tried it on the climb, but I realized that I was not riding for the stage win. The form is there, but I didn’t have the legs.”
Arensman was proud that he showed himself at the front despite lesser legs. It also gave him confidence for the remainder of the Tour. “There are two more mountain stages to come. If I find my legs again, I might still be able to make something of it.”
Before the two mountain stages are on the program, there is a flat ride of 160 kilometers on Wednesday.
If Arensman wins another stage, he will be the first Dutchman since Dylan Groenewegen in 2018 with two stage wins in a Tour de France.