Arensman again expressed willingness to give up everything, but INEOS persists (despite high aspirations) in merely following

Geraint Thomas had already stated it before the Giro d'Italia, and his deputy Thymen Arensman repeated it on Sunday before the start of the fifteenth stage: INEOS Grenadiers is here to win the Tour of Italy. Both gentlemen were (and are?) prepared to sacrifice everything for this goal. However, fifteen days into the race, INEOS has merely been seen sticking with the pack and setting the pace.

Let's go back to Wednesday evening, May 1, the day INEOS invited journalists to the hotel to talk with Thomas. IDLProCycling.com was the only one of two media outlets that accepted the invitation, which allowed us to have an extended conversation with the Welshman. He talked about being in good form, having had a perfect preparation, and not being afraid of Pogacar. The key statement from that press moment: "I finished second last year, so I'd rather go all out for the win than for a podium place. That would still be nice, but I'm at a stage in my career where I've already achieved a lot. Let's just go for it."

"I won't attack just for the sake of attacking, but I will when the finale is there and we feel good. The classification is the goal, but we can take advantage of certain situations along the way. That's how we want to win," Thomas further said, underscoring his words by boldly joining Pogacar in a breakaway on the flat on day three and being the only general classification team to really push hard in the gravel stage on day six. Arensman also picked himself up after a poor opening weekend and got his engine going. By the end of the first week, he was already back in the top ten, in ninth place. A position he did not necessarily want to defend. Prior to the start of the second week, Arensman boldly stated that he was willing to sacrifice his position for the higher goal.

"We came to the Giro to try and win, and that's still possible. Pogacar is super strong, but anything can happen. Geraint is still in a great position, so we'll do everything we can to snatch that pink jersey. We evaluate every day to see if there are opportunities. We aim to race in an engaging way with the entire team, so there’s a lot more to look forward to," the 24-year-old Dutchman told this website. "I've already finished in the top ten in a grand tour twice, so it doesn't matter all that much to me. Look at last year, when I finished sixth, but Geraint lost the Giro at the end. I would have gladly sacrificed my own standings if it could have helped him win the Giro. That's how we're approaching it now as well. We're willing to give up our own chances for the win of another."

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When will INEOS play the Arensman card?

After fifteen days, Pogacar leads by 6.41 minutes over the GC's number two, Thomas. Arensman moved up to sixth place through an excellent time trial on Saturday and a solid performance on Sunday. A great starting position for any team, but the earlier words of the two leaders echo. Especially after Arensman repeated at the start of day fifteen: "We have two cards to play, we can always try something. Will we join a breakaway? If I tell you that now, the surprise is gone. We're keeping our cards close to our chest and if the opportunity arises, we'll play them. I've already ridden top ten in a grand tour twice, so that's not so special to me anymore. It would be nice if we could win this grand tour. We'd rather win the Giro and have the other drop out of the standings, than finish second and third behind Pogacar."

The team will have to make this happen in the third week, although Arensman didn't yet know before the fifteenth stage that Pogacar would nearly double his lead over Thomas. Stage fifteen turned out to be a day when Thomas felt "not one hundred percent fit," according to himself, and Arensman "decided to increase the pace" for his teammate. There was no early breakaway or surprising attack; they simply followed the pack and set the pace towards the end, sticking to the typical INEOS strategy. "We're here to win the race, but Tadej has a big lead. Therefore, we're going to attack day by day in the last week and we'll see what that's going to be like. We're ready to sacrifice everything if the final victory becomes an option," team director Zak Dempster reaffirmed.

The big question seems to be: when will Arensman be heard, and when will his card be played? "Top five is the next step," Dempster says on that note. But the Dutch Arensman isn't necessarily waiting for that to happen. He feels he isn't yet at the point of going for his personal gain at all costs. "I try to get a bit stronger every year and so far, it's going well. I perform better and more consistently each year, and my best years are still ahead of me. I try to stay calm, do my best, and when I'm 28, I hope to be among the best. I'm not going to pin a number on this Giro just yet. We'll see what happens."