Ben Turner impressed by Thymen Arensman and points to ‘promising’ Giro stages for himself

“This Giro has been going well so far,” said the Brit. “I think it’s been different from normal, because I’ve really tried to get the maximum out of certain stages, so that has been really nice. But it also means you build up more fatigue, so on some days I was pretty tired. Still, my form has been very good and it was nice to be able to perform.”

Turner finished fourth on stage four after helping team leader Egan Bernal back to the peloton once the Colombian had been dropped. “Normally, I also do a lot of work to support the GC riders, so it’s not exactly new. I enjoy doing it, especially when we are in a good position as a group. Of course, Thymen Arensman is looking very good at the moment, so that's positive."

Later in the race, the fast Brit also finished fifth in Naples, but he is aiming higher than that. “That is what I really want. I love winning bike races. That was my personal ambition: to come here and win a stage. That is definitely something I am aiming for, and we still have two weeks left to achieve it,” Turner said.

“I think for me personally, it will probably come down to a sprint from a reduced peloton, where I have the best chance of success. The middle of this week looks promising,” the Brit said, looking ahead to stage twelve, which finishes in Novi Ligure, and stage thirteen, which ends in Verbania. Stage eleven could still be on the limit for him, given the amount of climbing in the second half of that route.

At the same time, Turner knows his team has even bigger ambitions: reaching the final podium. “I think Thymen looks super strong, and I think he will be in a really good position after the time trial. Egan still looks good as well, and I think he is in a good place,” the powerful all-rounder analysed.

“Overall, I’m pretty impressed, so I think we are in a very good position for the general classification. The guys generally look good, so I think we are in a strong position as a group to support Thymen while also pursuing our own personal ambitions,” Turner concluded.