{"id":1001631,"date":"2026-06-03T01:19:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T01:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1001631\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T01:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T01:19:14","slug":"egan-has-been-phenomenal-in-this-giro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1001631\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cEgan has been phenomenal in this Giro\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nSpeaking earlier in the race to IDL Pro Cycling<\/a>, Thomas had already pointed to Bernal\u2019s influence as one of the hidden strengths of INEOS\u2019 Giro. \u201cEgan has nevertheless been phenomenal in this Giro, as a leader within the team,\u201d Thomas said.Arensman gives INEOS a Grand Tour platform<\/p>\n

Arensman arrived at the Giro having already finished sixth twice in the race, but this was the first time he converted that consistency into a top-four overall finish. It was not a smooth ride to Rome. His podium hopes came under pressure in the final week, and on the last mountain stage to Piancavallo he needed Bernal\u2019s pacing and composure to contain the danger from Gee-West and Jai Hindley.<\/p>\n

Thomas had seen the foundations earlier in the race. The Welshman felt Arensman had arrived with a clearer head and a better support structure around him than in previous Grand Tour campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team has surrounded him really well and Thymen is in a good place, after all the work he has done with his coach,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cHe is in the best possible position for a good result.\u201d<\/p>\n

The difference, according to Thomas, was not only physical. Arensman had won two stages at the 2025 Tour de France, but the next challenge was converting that ability into a steadier three-week GC performance. \u201cI think he has matured more, and he has taken confidence from 2025,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

That maturity was visible in the final outcome. Arensman missed the podium, but fourth overall still marked the strongest Grand Tour GC result of his career and gave INEOS a clearer focal point for future three-week plans.<\/p>\n

\"Thymen<\/p>\n

Thymen Arensman in action on stage 19 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia<\/p>\n

\u201cLess is more, sometimes\u201d<\/p>\n

INEOS also tried to manage Arensman\u2019s Giro away from the racing itself. Thomas said the team had worked with him on limiting distractions, including his media load, after previous Grand Tours in which questions over early time losses and consistency often followed him through the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThymen had a good winter and has the right mindset,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cHe is not overthinking it and he is not paying too much attention to other people\u2019s opinions. He is sticking to what he and the team know.\u201d<\/p>\n

That approach included a deliberate plan around how much Arensman had to do off the bike. \u201cOur press department sat down with Thymen and made a plan for how he can stay as focused as possible,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAbove all, he should not be distracted, and that seems to be working.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas admitted that his own approach as a rider was different, but he backed the tailored plan around Arensman. \u201cEveryone is different. I never really minded saying something. But less is more, sometimes,\u201d he said. \u201cThe starting point was: what is the minimum you want to do? We look at that day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For INEOS, that was part of the wider Giro picture. Arensman was not simply handed leadership and left to handle the pressure alone. The team tried to build a quieter environment around him, and the result was their best GC finish of the race.<\/p>\n

Bernal\u2019s Giro becomes more than a GC result<\/p>\n

Bernal\u2019s own Giro did not develop into the GC challenge he would have wanted, but his importance increased as Arensman\u2019s position became the team\u2019s main objective. The Colombian, a Tour de France and Giro d\u2019Italia winner, was central on Stage 20 when Arensman came under pressure and briefly risked losing ground in the fight for fourth.<\/p>\n

Thomas had already stressed that Bernal\u2019s value went beyond his own place in the standings. \u201cI\u2019m talking about his attitude towards the boys as well, even after a couple of lesser days,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cThe way he talks in the bus… He has a huge influence on the team, even now that he is not the one who has to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That line carried extra weight by the end of the Giro. Bernal did not leave with the headline result, but his presence helped protect the one INEOS did get. Arensman later called him the team\u2019s MVP on the final mountain stage, a sign of how clearly that support was felt inside the race.<\/p>\n

Thomas also pushed back against the idea that Bernal should simply be stripped of leader status in future. \u201cI think Egan will always want to keep preparing for races as a leader, to go for the best possible result in Grand Tours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking from his own experience as a former Grand Tour winner, Thomas said those ambitions still matter for riders who have reached the very top. \u201cI know from my own experience that if you take that away, you are never really your best self anymore. You need those goals when you have won the biggest races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas sees the other side of INEOS<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 move into the team car has also changed his own view of INEOS. After years as one of the riders around whom the team was built, he is now watching the internal management, logistics and rider support from the staff side. \u201cI don\u2019t only see different things with Thymen, but with the whole team,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cYou suddenly realise that those guys are dealing with things you had no idea about as a rider.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Giro gave INEOS a complicated but useful picture. Arensman showed he can carry a Grand Tour bid deeper than before. Bernal showed he can still shape a team\u2019s race even when the GC is no longer his own. Thomas, now part of the staff structure, saw how much work goes into making both roles function.<\/p>\n

\u201cI now see a completely different side of the team,\u201d he said, \u201cand understand much better that it is all much bigger and more complicated than you sometimes think as a rider.\u201d<\/p>\n

INEOS did not leave the Giro with the maglia rosa or a podium place, but Arensman\u2019s fourth, Bernal\u2019s final-week support and Thomas\u2019 early view from the other side gave the team something more solid than another near miss.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking earlier in the race to IDL Pro Cycling, Thomas had already pointed to Bernal\u2019s influence as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1001632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,181975,59413,42456,271915,79,42461,16,15],"class_list":["post-1001631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-egan-bernal","tag-geraint-thomas","tag-giro-ditalia","tag-netcompany-ineos","tag-sports","tag-thymen-arensman","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116683549498931770","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1001631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1001632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1001631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1001631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1001631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}