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Thymen Arensman is the new Dutch hype thread

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Pretty similar effort to the Vuelta last year but now as helper.

A bad opening TT and some time loss early in the Giro. But a very strong third week. Same pattern though, first week efforts, explosive efforts, and the ultra steep not his thing. Seems very much an improved version of Kruijswijk to me.
Kruijswijk in top form has this ease in climbing that is almost poetic, actually Arensman seems quite the opposite of that :) Yes, he also has the recovery for the third week, but other than that they're quite dissimilar. I think as a climber peak Kruijswijk will always be better than Arensman can become, purely because Arensman is too tall and too heavy.
 
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Kruijswijk in top form has this ease in climbing that is almost poetic, actually Arensman seems quite the opposite of that :) Yes, he also has the recovery for the third week, but other than that they're quite dissimilar. I think as a climber peak Kruijswijk will always be better than Arensman can become, purely because Arensman is too tall and too heavy.

Arensman is more similar to his leader in this Giro, Thomas.
 
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Pretty similar effort to the Vuelta last year but now as helper.

A bad opening TT and some time loss early in the Giro. But a very strong third week. Same pattern though, first week efforts, explosive efforts, and the ultra steep not his thing. Seems very much an improved version of Kruijswijk to me.
It seems he really has a problem to get his engine going early on. Like he said himself last year at the Giro d'Italia.
 
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With all the tempogrinders, comparatively easy mountain stages, a good amount of TT and an underwhelming field, he couldn't have asked for more favourable conditions. The fact that he still only managed sixth confirms my suspicion that he doesn't have a GT podium in him, which makes sense given his height.
Didn't stop Wiggins.

I think really tall lanky riders don't necessarily need to be that limited, but you just have such a smaller population of them it can seem like they're no good GC riders that tall.

I think he just lacks some raw power.
 
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Didn't stop Wiggins.

I think really tall lanky riders don't necessarily need to be that limited, but you just have such a smaller population of them it can seem like they're no good GC riders that tall.

I think he just lacks some raw power.
As you've said over and over, it didn't stop Wiggins because he caught lightning in a bottle with the ideal route, field and support. That will never be replicated by Arensman or anyone else, not least because we aren't seeing another route with endless TT and horrific mountain stages any time soon.
 
As you've said over and over, it didn't stop Wiggins because he caught lightning in a bottle with the ideal route, field and support. That will never be replicated by Arensman or anyone else, not least because we aren't seeing another route with endless TT and horrific mountain stages any time soon.
Lightning in a bottle made him win by 4 minutes, it didn't make him a contender in the first place. And you're talking about a bar that's considerably lower.

There's plenty of GC contenders in the 185cm range or higher, including the most recent 4x TdF champion, and another TdF winner who got top 2 thrice in a row.
 
Didn't stop Wiggins.

I think really tall lanky riders don't necessarily need to be that limited, but you just have such a smaller population of them it can seem like they're no good GC riders that tall.

I think he just lacks some raw power.
I had a quick look, and Wiggins was the only one in the 190s that I could find in recent years. He's listed as being 190. And Arensman is 192, which, if he podiums a GT, will make him the first 190+ rider to do so in forever (maybe ever?).

Not arguing for or against Devil's Elbow's view. Just found it an interesting statistic.
 
Arensman did 6.1W/kg for 55 minutes on the second ascent of Grappa

Something has gone seriously, wrong, he was five kilos overweight


GOlNov_W4AAdVoK
 
something to do with retaining moisture/water, they think. But they are gonna analyze what happened. He was 5kg heavier than at the start of the race indeed.

Anyway, I dont think it would've mattered for his position much. Seems to hit a bit of a limit here. Even though he is still 24. I think with a good start to a GT and his time trial he could still finish higher given a limited GC field like this one.
 
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