Battered INEOS look to the Tourmalet for answers at the Tour de France: 'We’re not just going to give up'
CyclingWednesday, 08 July 2026 at 10:43
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Follow us on GoogleThymen Arensman has lost time on nearly every stage of the Tour de France so far. The Dutchman didn’t seem to be making any moves to contend for the early general classification in this race. Then the 26-year-old Dutchman crashed on Stage 3, and suddenly had the help of half the Netcompany INEOS team to bring him back. How should we interpret that move? IDL Pro Cycling caught up with the INEOS team manager at the bus.
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Netcompany INEOS certainly didn’t come through the first few days of the Tour de France unscathed. On the first day, sprinter Dorian Godon was involved in a crash, followed by the crash involving Tobias Foss, Michal Kwiatkowski, and Arensman on stage 3. Kwiatkowski was able to continue fairly quickly, but Foss and Arensman were clearly in pain.
"It really hurt during the stage, and my knee was literally twice as big after the stage and this morning," Arensman told NOS before the start of Stage 4. "It’s taped up now; it is what it is. It does hurt, but with this heat and the speed of the race, other parts of my body are hurting too. Hopefully that balances things out a bit."
"I hope it goes away; in any case, I'm doing everything I can to help it heal. That's why I went to bed pretty late on Tuesday," said the Dutch rider. Team manager Daryl Impey was already feeling hopeful. “Thymen is okay; it was just a minor knock to the knee. He’ll need a day or two to recover, but he finished with the leading group yesterday (Tuesday, ed.).”
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Thymen Arensman took a hard fall on his right knee during Stage 3.
INEOS wants to recover, but still has plans for Arensman at the Tour de France
Arensman finished 19th on Stage 3, 27 seconds behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar. All the riders on the Netcompany INEOS team were held back after the Dutchman’s crash in order to bring him back to the front. Why? Because Arensman had indicated during the opening weekend that he wasn’t necessarily focused on the general classification just yet.
In the team time trial on Day 1, he put in some massive pulls, which caused him to lose time on the final climb. In the second stage, he was also unable to keep up with the general classification battle in Barcelona during an explosive finish. As a result, Arensman was in 16th place after three days, 2.16 minutes behind the yellow jersey and a good minute out of the top ten.
For that reason, we don't have to completely rule out a general classification finish for Arensman just yet, Impey emphasised. “We haven’t had a real general classification stage yet, so we’re really taking it day by day. We’re not just going to give up on anything, even though some teams do,” said the South African.
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Thymen Arensman
INEOS still looking to Arensman (and Bernal?) for the GC
"We have plenty of riders on the team who can go for a breakaway, so it's great to see Thymen continue to grow after the Giro. He can push his limits, and we'll see where that takes us," said Impey. Incidentally, Netcompany INEOS also has Egan Bernal in 21st place, though he’s already 4.15 minutes behind.
The Colombian also finished among the general classification contenders in Stage 3, so the duo from the Giro d'Italia may also be able to contend for the overall title in the Tour de France. This would give Netcompany INEOS the opportunity to send sprinters Filippo Ganna and Joshua Tarling on the attack, along with climbers Kévin Vauquelin and Tobias Foss. Godon is the team’s designated sprinter.
Stage 6 will therefore be a crucial test for Arensman and his team. And also for Foss, who, after the crash on Day 3, had (and still has) two days to recover. “It’s a shame that we saw Tobias drop out of the general classification because of that crash. It was great to have him there; that gave us options. But because of that crash, he lost 36 minutes, so that’s clear.”
"All of our riders are okay. Of course, it always hurts when you crash in the Tour de France. But all eight of our riders are able to race as far as that goes. Tobias was a bit stiffer this morning (Tuesday, ed.) than he was yesterday, but Stages 4 and 5 aren’t his kind of stages. By Day 6 over the Tourmalet, he should be back in shape if we’re riding for Thymen.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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