Uijtdebroeks' withdrawal decapitates Visma | Lease a Bike's hopes as well as the young rider jersey battle, according to Arensman

With the fight for the pink jersey currently less thrilling due to Tadej Pogacar's dominance, the battle for the white young rider jersey is just heating up. Until Wednesday, three riders were serious contenders for the jersey in Rome, and IDLProCycling.com spoke with them all. Following Cian Uijtdebroeks' exit, the competition has now narrowed to a duel between Antonio Tiberi and Thymen Arensman. How are they handling the increased pressure as the Giro enters its most challenging stages?

Uijtdebroeks' withdrawal is a significant loss for him, Visma | Lease a Bike, and the Giro. The young Belgian never made a secret of his goal for the white jersey. Before the Giro, the Visma | Lease a Bike climber had already expressed his focus on GC. "Since I'm aiming for a good classification, I'll race a bit differently than the rest. More conservatively, aiming for the highest possible result. If that leads to the white jersey, that would be fantastic."

After a week of intense racing, Uijtdebroeks found himself unexpectedly in the white jersey. "I surprised myself, as I expected to lose more in the time trial and to struggle more on the gravel," he reflected on the first rest day, thinking ahead to the tough mountain stages that should ideally suit him. "Aiming for the classification isn't different from fighting for the white jersey. We'll see what it brings in Rome. Can I reach the podium? That would be really great. It’s still a long race, but I’m not really looking at positions. I want to maximize my performance, and a lot can happen."

The young climber's health struggles since the rest day ultimately led to a DNS for the eleventh stage. Before the start of the tenth stage, he still appeared calm, even after Tiberi's comments on the rest day. "The time trial is of course Tiberi's strength, but after the time trial, there are a lot of mountains, so I think it will be a great fight for the white jersey. We'll have to see how he fares at altitude in the third week."

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Tiberi, the 22-year-old Italian from Bahrain Victorious, has suddenly become the leader in the young rider classification following Uijtdebroeks' withdrawal. Tiberi is riding with excellent form. "I will see how my body reacts to 21 days of stress, but so far everything is going well," he said on the rest day. However, he is still haunted by losing nearly two minutes due to two flat tires on day two—the stage to Oropa. Despite placing sixth in the time trial to Perugia, he was still only sixth overall after day ten.

Yet, it was the time trial on day seven that gave Tiberi the confidence to dream. His ambition for a spot on the podium in the general classification remains strong. The fourteenth stage—a completely flat time trial of 31.6 kilometers—is where he plans to shine. "The white jersey is one of my goals, and reaching the podium in Rome would be a dream. I'm not far off, and I will go all out in the time trial, where I'm normally better than Cian. I hope to gain time there. We've scouted the time trial, so I know it well. It's a good and fast course for me," he said, unaware at the time that his rival would withdraw.

Tiberi also showed no signs of weakness compared to the best in the classification in the early mountain stages, although he couldn’t say much before the tenth stage. "On day two, I had two flats, so the first real test uphill was actually Prati di Tivo on day eight. It was a bit of a strange climb, with a high pace and no overly steep sections. The relative strengths will become clearer later."

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Uijtdebroeks referred to him as "a formidable competitor" for the white jersey, but when we ask Thymen Arensman about the young rider classification, he has to ask three times what exactly we mean. "Oh, the white! Well, this reaction probably says enough, right? I'm not at all focused on the white jersey; it's just a nice bonus if you get to wear it. So, I'm not looking at the others, everyone just wants to get from A to B as quickly as possible. As for being in the top five in the GC, it's the same. You aim to finish as high as possible, and if that means top five, then it's the top five."

While Uijtdebroeks and Tiberi were clearly outspoken about aiming for the white jersey and keeping each other in sight, Arensman has a different approach to the race. "We came to the Giro to try and win, and that's still possible. Pogacar is super strong, but anything can happen. Geraint (Thomas, ed.) is still in a great position, so we'll do everything we can to snatch that pink jersey," states the 24-year-old Dutchman from INEOS Grenadiers. "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 time trial in the second week will be crucial; both G and I are good at those. The stage to Livigno at altitude should also play to my strengths."

Racing with the pink jersey in mind creates a different mindset than racing for the white jersey and the highest possible position. "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."

The only problem is that Arensman—if he still wants a shot at the pink—lost minutes in the opening weekend. He got through it, but at INEOS, there was some morale-boosting to do. "Especially on the first two days, I really felt that supportive arm around me. They kept believing in me and we stayed positive, trusting the process. Just keep fighting and everyone said it would eventually show. I had a good preparation, so there wasn't more I could do. With my talent, it should come out, and apparently, it has. We've known for a while that I struggle at the beginning of a Grand Tour and that the third week is my strength. Things are getting better and better now, so hopefully, I can continue this trend. Then things are looking good."