Thymen Arensman may have had a frustrating week at the Volta ao Algarve, but he has settled in quickly at Ineos Grenadiers and is pushing for a leadership role at this year's Giro d'Italia.
The Dutch talent left Team DSM in the winter after his first two-and-a-half seasons as a pro, and, having placed sixth at last year's Vuelta a España, and is now looking to establish himself as a Grand Tour contender at the British team.
The 23-year-old is set to line up at the Giro alongside 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas at this year's Giro, and also the 2020 Giro champion, Tao Geoghegan Hart.
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"The Giro could be a nice race for me with a lot of TT and a really hard third week," Arensman told Cyclingnews after the Volta ao Algarve.
"Maybe together with G and Tao we can have three leaders and have nice result there for the team."
That vision, however, didn't fully chime with that of team management.
"Geraint will be the leader of the team and Thymen is the backup," deputy team principal, Rod Ellingworth, told Cyclingnews.
"Thymen is happy with that. He has made a great start with the team, really feels he's found his feet within the team, is enjoying being here, respects the guys. All that's gone quite well. He's a good character."
Asked if a leadership trio was the strategy that had been discussed within the team, Arensman said: "Yeah, I guess. Just spread the chances, you know?
"We have really good riders and if you start with a strong team you see how the legs are and then in the third week maybe one guy is left and the others are also really strong to help him. It's just a nice tactic, I think."
Arensman was one of four Ineos leaders in the Algarve but, despite the team's success, had a week to forget on a personal level. While Dani Martinez won the overall title, Filippo Ganna finished runner-up, and Tom Pidcock won a stage and finished sixth, Arensman suffered untimely punctures on the descents that led into both summit finishes.
He recovered from the first to limit his losses on the Alto da Foia on stage 2 but had "no chance" of getting back in on the Alto do Malhão on stage 4. He rode a strong - if risk-averse - final time trial to place sixth on the stage and 24th overall.
"It's frustrating, but it is what it is - just bad luck. I hope this is all my bad luck for the year in one week, then I would be happy," Arensman said.
"For me personally, it's really shit, but it was a nice week with the team anyway, so that's also important."
As for how he's finding his new surroundings: "Really nice. I'm really happy. DSM is also a nice team but Ineos is one of the best. There's a lot of good staff, a lot of good equipment. It's a really good place where you can become a better bike rider."
When it comes to the partnership with his fellow Giro d'Italia 'leaders', Arensman has already combined well with Geoghegan Hart at the Volta Valenciana and will link up with Thomas at Tirreno-Adriatico in early March.
"I didn't race with him yet, but I spoke with him in December," he said of Thomas. "He's just a really nice guy. He's also a rider I really look up to, a great rider. I think can learn a lot from him. We race Tirreno together so hopefully I can still learn lots from him there."
