INEOS banking on ‘Arensman 2.0’ at the Giro: New coach, letting teammates drop him, and co-leadership with Bernal

Arensman is heading into his fourth Giro, after finishing sixth in both 2023 and 2024, those times with Geraint Thomas as co-leader. This time, he’ll partner with Bernal, who is riding his second Giro, after winning it in 2021. Supporting the two leaders are Jonathan Castroviejo, Lucas Hamilton, Kim Heiduk, Brandon Rivera, Josh Tarling, and Ben Turner. All are ready to work, though some will also have freedom to go on the attack. Tarling, according to Performance Director Scott Drawer, will also focus on the two time trials in the route.

Arensman says his 2025 season has been “quite good so far,” with 4th place in the Tour of Valencia, 3rd in Paris–Nice, and recently 2nd overall at the Tour of the Alps, including an impressive solo stage win. “I feel stronger and more consistent in races, and I’ve had some nice results which I am proud of, including my first win with the team. That result came in a really special way and has given me a good boost coming ahead of the Giro. I am now focused and looking forward to getting racing,” said the Dutchman.

Egan Bernal returns to the race he famously won, after spending recent years trying to regain his best form following a major training crash in 2022. “I’m both motivated and grateful to be back and leading the team again alongside Thymen. This season hasn't been the most straightforward given my broken collarbone after the crash in Clásica Jaén in February. But we had a good rehab plan and I was able to get back on the bike quickly afterwards. I’ve had a solid block of training, and I feel strong heading to the Giro.”

Bernal calls it a “really balanced squad,” and Drawer confirms that, saying the team will stick to its aggressive racing style while still dreaming of the maglia rosa. “Egan and Thymen give us real depth and leadership in the GC battle. Egan’s journey back to top form has been nothing short of incredible, and his experience at a race like the Giro is invaluable for the rest of the team. Thymen’s progression this season has been great to see and we believe he’s ready to take another step forward at this race.”

Speaking to IDLProCycling.com, Arensman says INEOS’s new racing mindset is still compatible with GC ambitions. “The team wants to race aggressively and everyone gets their chance, but if you want to go for GC, you can’t go overboard. I’m not Tadej Pogacar — if I attack with 100 kilometers to go, I’m not riding for the overall. You want to race aggressively, but there’s a balance, just like in life. But we are racing more aggressively, and my stage win at the Tour of the Alps was another example of that.”

Arensman thinks the combination with Bernal could work well after two Giros next to Thomas. “Egan and I are two different types of riders — I’m more of a steady climber with a good time trial, Egan is a more typical pure climber. We can play two different cards, whereas Thomas and I were fairly similar. That forced us to race conservatively. Now I can maybe ride more defensively, focus on my time trials, while Egan attacks — and I can sit back and monitor the rest. That’s a nice change.”

But as we mentioned: the biggest change at INEOS isn’t just the aggressive tactics or new co-leader. The biggest shift came from Arensman himself — as a rider and as a person. That started this past winter when he switched to Adrián López as coach (who also trains Bernal), replacing Dutchman Daio Sanders. “The team made that call. Both Daio and Adrián are great coaches. So that wasn’t the issue. I’d been working with Daio since 2019, back at SEG Racing. We developed a close bond, a kind of comfort zone.”

That comfort zone is exactly what Arensman decided to leave. “Sometimes it’s good to switch and work with someone else. Someone who challenges me more or even holds me back a bit,” he says. Under his new coach, Arensman now does less. “If there’s a four- or five-hour ride on the plan, and I feel tired, four hours is enough. I always used to push through and do the full five-plus, and because of the comfort zone I was in with Daio, I knew he’d be fine with that.”

“I don’t know if ‘misuse’ is the right word,” he adds, “but when I was tired, I still did the full max of what was scheduled. That’s on me, due to my inexperience. Now I’ve stepped out of that comfort zone with a new coach.” That had big consequences. “On every rest day and every endurance ride, I got dropped by my teammates. I just let them go — because zones are zones, and Fabián tells me exactly what wattage to ride on the final climb, for good reason. So that’s what I did.”

Lucas Hamilton, who joined from Jayco–AlUla, was often next to Arensman during training camps. “We rode up together with the speaker on the bike, and on the effort days, I suddenly went up really fast. I followed my power zones, and that’s working well. I have more energy on the days that matter, so when you can take it easy — you really should.” Hamilton says: “It was a great training camp. Good to get to know Thymen better. He’s a nice guy, easy to get along with.”

Letting teammates ride away took a mental shift. Arensman: “Yeah, I see it all differently now. In the end, it’s just cycling. And like everyone always says: the sun will rise again tomorrow. The world keeps turning, so cycling is just a side thing in life — an important one, but I try not to take it too seriously anymore. I just do my best, follow my training plans, and enjoy time with my teammates. Whatever the outcome is, it is. If I’ve done everything I could, I can be satisfied with any result.”

“First, second, tenth, or last. It doesn’t really matter to me anymore,” Arensman concludes. And with lower expectations, he seems to be delivering more. Team director Imanol Erviti has noticed it too: “We’ve made some small adjustments with a more relaxed approach. That works really well for him. He’s growing — also as a leader within the team. Communication is key, but there’s so much he has to learn. You have to let everyone know what you need — it makes everyone’s job easier.”

Egan Bernal