Professional cyclist for Ineos Grenadiers, Thymen Arensman returned to the Netherlands by bike this Thursday after leaving Andorra nine days ago. During his trip, which was largely in France, the Dutchman slept at Romain Bardet’s house.
A cycling trip across France. Professional cyclist with the Ineos Grenadiers team, Thymen Arensman (24 years old), 6th in the Giro d’Italia in 2024, embarked on an expedition between Andorra and the Netherlands this September, all with his luggage under the saddle and the frame.
This practice is called “bikepacking”, which is a form of minimalist cycle touring. Thymen Arensman is not the first professional cyclist to take the plunge. Belgians Thomas De Gendt and Tim Wellens have already undertaken such an adventure as a duo in recent years.
Thymen Arensman (24 years old), who has not yet participated in the Tour de France, has thus multiplied the hours in the saddle across France in recent days in the company of his girlfriend’s brother. For example, the Dutchman covered 246km on the seventh day, last Tuesday, between Saint-Léger-Vauban and Sainte-Menehould.
“A stop at the bakery was planned every 50 kilometers,” the cyclist said in his report.
A night at his former teammate Romain Bardet’s house
Fifth in the European time trial championships on September 11, Thymen Arensman wants to approach his sport in a different way since his withdrawal from the Tour of Spain at the end of August. Although he was aiming for a good general classification in the Vuelta, the interested party saw his hopes disappear due to Covid. “I worked very hard for two and a half months in preparation for this race,” Arensman recently confessed, disappointed to have lived like a monk without having been rewarded.
After this time trial at the European Championships, Thymen Arensman was therefore impatiently waiting to embark on an adventure to “discover new roads” and “meet people”. “It’s a bit of the romanticism of sport. I also hope to learn from it”, said the man who refused to take part in the world championships to devote himself to this trip.
A former lieutenant of Romain Bardet at the beginning of his career in the peloton, Thymen Arensman also found the Auvergnat on his route, even sleeping at his place at the end of the fourth day. “Our gratitude is eternal for the hospitality,” wrote the young rider, who shared a few kilometers early the next morning with Bardet. Arensman and his brother-in-law are due to arrive in the Netherlands this Thursday, after a nine-day journey. At the end of the season, the Dutchman is due to take part in a few Italian classics.
