Thymen Arensman: Staying at Ineos depends on if the team want me

Thymen Arensman will be one of the most sought-after riders on this year’s transfer market with no shortage of teams chasing the talented all-rounder. The Dutchman is out of contract at Ineos Grenadiers with his two-year deal up for renewal and according to the rider, any talk of his future revolves around whether Ineos are willing to make an offer.

“It’s a contract year. We have to wait and see. I hope that there are some good offers from the team. We’ll see,” he told GCN at the Volta ao Algarve.

His comments will put several Dutch teams on red alert. Asked whether he wanted to stay on the team, Arensman replied: “It depends on if the team wants to keep me. I think that I’m in a good place with the team but as a Dutch guy there are also some Dutch teams so we have to see if this team wants to keep me. It’s also something for my management.”

It is peculiar for a rider of Arensman’s quality to reach the final year of his contract in this position. Most young riders are locked in for several seasons with new deals set in motion well before the current one is set to expire. Even so, Arensman believes that he has time on his side to make the right move and that his position was of his own creation.

“That was my own choice to sign for two years when I left DSM because you can always add more years but you can’t take years off a contract. I prefer to respect contracts. Now I can maybe add more years or decide if I want to find something else,” he said.

Again, asked if he would like to stay, he said: “It depends on what teams offer. So far it’s been really good but it depends on if they really want to keep me. Time will tell.”

Meanwhile, the Dutch rider is putting in a strong showing in Portugal with a top-ten finish on stage 2 to Alto da Fóia. His entire race schedule has yet to be confirmed for the season but his preference would be to race the Giro d’Italia alongside Geraint Thomas as a protected rider. He finished sixth in the race last year, with Thomas settling for second overall behind Primož Roglič.

“It's only my third race day but the previous two days were quite good, I would say. Normally the first race of the season I’m in good shape after an altitude camp. I had a good winter, I’m one year older, and yesterday was quite a good performance from me on quite a punchy final climb. I’m happy with the shape, and the legs so early in the season,” he said.

When asked about his Grand Tour plans, the Dutch rider said: “We have to see. It depends on where the team sends me. I don’t know if the team want me in the Giro but if they want me in the Tour then I’ll go to the Tour. It’s up to the team but my preference would be the Giro with the parcours that really suits me. I hope that I can show these good legs in the Giro, do a nice GC there, and do better than last year. Geraint is confirmed for the Giro, so it would be good for the team to have two cards to play.”

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