“I got cramps in my legs, but I only had one thing on my mind”; Thymen Arensman on his second victory in the Tour de France

The Dutchman was overjoyed after the finish. He collapsed on the ground against the barrier, covered his face with his hands, and cried with happiness. “I can't believe it,” were the first words of the stage winner. “To win one stage is already incredible, but now I've done it against the strongest in the world. I'm dreaming, I don't know what I'm doing.”

On the final climb, Arensman was the only one who could keep up with Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike). After two attempts to break away solo, the Dutchman, who has been living in Andorra for several years, succeeded on his third attempt. He opened up a gap, and Pogacar and Vingegaard kept their legs still: with 13.5 kilometers to go, Arensman headed solo towards the summit.

Arensman on his attack: “After the descent towards La Plagne, Tobias (Foss, ed.) was still there. We talked a bit on the radio. I said, ‘I'm going to try to follow, tomorrow is your day, today I'll see what I can do. I was in control and thought I'd just give it a try. And then they were looking at each other.”

Text continues below.

Arensman told NOS that he was very happy with his new victory. “I have no words. Winning a stage from the breakaway is incredible, but now I've beaten the strongest riders in the world in a fair fight. So yes, I have no words for that.”

After the breakaway, Arensman hoped that Pogacar and Vingegaard would look at each other. “Especially when the GC is decided, you see the two of them, and you hope they do that. I know they are stronger than me, but you also need super legs to stay ahead.”

During the last kilometer, the chasers came dangerously close. “I wasn't thinking about anything, just trying to take in the encouragement from the Dutch fans. I hoped that would give me a few extra watts. Every fiber in my body was telling me to stop, but I wanted to keep going. I rode as hard as I could in the last kilometer. I got cramps in my legs, but I only had one thought: don't sit down, don't sit down. Fortunately, they didn't overtake me.”