Arensman keeps showing a new side of himself at the Giro — how bright does his world look after Tuesday's time trial?

Thymen Arensman lost slightly more time than perhaps hoped on Blockhaus in stage seven of the Giro d'Italia. But the 26-year-old Dutchman made up some of the time the following day in a punchy stage eight finale. IDL Pro Cycling visited the Netcompany INEOS team bus after stage eight, where the mood was upbeat.

Stage eight was certainly the day on which Egan Bernal was searching for explanations for his minutes lost on Blockhaus — but it was also the day Arensman finished tenth in Fermo. If you had mapped out this stage two years ago, you would have expected the tall climber to be hanging on somewhere at the back of the favourites group. Or perhaps to have been dropped entirely.

In 2026, that is simply no longer the case. Arensman is an explosive force among the GC contenders now. That became clear at the Tour of the Alps, where he was already close to a stage win on a punchy summit finish — only narrowly beaten by Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). And in stage eight of the Giro, Arensman was the fifth-placed GC rider in the day's result.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and the attacking Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) took two bonus seconds, but after them it was Bernal, pink jersey holder Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) and Arensman who crossed the line together — and this after a finish in the picturesque town of Fermo where the gradients hit as much as 22%.

Even at Netcompany INEOS they had to admit, after stage eight, that seeing Arensman this prominent among the front runners had not been entirely expected. "Though I'd say yes and no at the same time," sporting director Leonardo Basso added. "Because Thymen has already shown earlier in this race — and earlier this year — that he has that explosive quality."

Basso had done his homework, citing stage two of the Tour of the Alps in particular. "And here too he's with the very best. He has made a real step forward in that regard and we know his strengths," said the Italian — who also noted that despite significant losses on Blockhaus, Bernal had shown impressive explosiveness in Fermo. On that front, both co-leaders are looking good.

"We keep believing, because we still have so many opportunities ahead," Basso continued. After Sunday's summit finish in stage nine, week two of the Giro opens on Tuesday with a 42-kilometre individual time trial from Viareggio to Massa — virtually flat from start to finish. A stage where Arensman and Netcompany INEOS are hoping to gain significant time.

Asked how much, Basso paused briefly. Could Arensman be second overall after the time trial — perhaps behind Vingegaard? "I'm not really one for predictions — but I like your positivity, ha! Our approach is genuinely day by day, knowing our strengths and weaknesses. And based on that, we have a plan for three weeks."

"The time trial will be a great opportunity for us," he said brightly. With Arensman sitting just under two minutes behind Vingegaard after eight stages — and only half a minute behind Hindley and the cluster around him — the picture after Tuesday's time trial could look very different. "After the time trial, we'll see a very different general classification, and many teams will have to adapt their tactics."