Arensman's frustration felt by INEOS after another unlucky break on stage 14: 'In the end, I was right'

Thymen Arensman crossed the finish line on Saturday in Stage 14 of the Tour de France, brimming with frustration. The Dutch rider finally made his presence felt at the front of the pack during the stage, after spending most of the first two weeks recovering from a crash in the opening week. However, a puncture caused his hopes to fade away. So did his frustration, as he revealed in an interview with Han Kock of NOS at the finish line.

"It was an unlucky day," said Arensman, who was part of a large breakaway and ultimately seemed to have a good chance of making the jump to the decisive group with a trio of riders. However, a flat tire 90 kilometers from the finish line threw a wrench in all his plans.

"I gave it a try and I felt much better than I had during the rest of this Tour. But getting a flat tire at the absolute worst moment in the race just isn't ideal," he analyzed matter-of-factly. "Of course it's frustrating, but there wasn't much I could do about it, and the guys up front aren't going to wait, obviously."

The conversation between Arensman and the Netcompany INEOS team management as they approached the bike changeover could be heard on television. The Dutch rider reacted with surprise, because now the whole world could hear that Arensman actually didn’t want to make the change—since that would mean his attempt to catch the breakaway would truly be over.

"Well, in the end, I was right," he joked. "The team management really wanted me to make a substitution, and I understand why. I could feel my legs and was pushing myself to the absolute limit on the descent. I was almost riding on the rim." After the bike change, he rode close behind the lead group for quite a while, but: “No matter how strong your legs are, you’ll never be able to close that gap after that.”

Fortunately, Han Kock was there to tell Arensman at the finish line that Tadej Pogacar had won the stage. The Dutchman immediately perked up. “That makes it less frustrating, now that I know it turned out to be a general classification day. I don’t know if I had the legs to stay with the leaders—legs like I had at La Plagne in 2025. But it does make it a little less frustrating.”

According to Kock, the fact that Arensman wanted to join the breakaway again in Stage 14 was a good sign. And he could certainly agree with that. “Let’s hope there are still opportunities ahead. I’m starting to feel better in the race, but if UAE rides like this every day… They’re bound to let us go at some point, so everyone will keep trying.”

Maybe on Stage 15, when we wrap up three days in the Vosges.