INEOS Grenadiers must rely on collectivism at the Giro: ‘An important role for Arensmann’

interview Wanted: A rival for Tadej Pogacar in the upcoming Giro d’Italia. In INEOS Grenadiers they want to face the Slovenian favorite with a strong team. Although the British formation is no longer able to offer the assets it did some five years ago, the team is still ambitious. After the Alpine Tour, we visited Australian Sporting Director Zak Dempster, who will also lead the team including Geraint Thomas, Thaemen Arensmann, Filippo Ganna and Tobias Vos in the Giro d’Italia.

“G (pen name of Geraint Thomas, ed.) does gyro for a reason, doesn’t he,” Dempster explains. “For him, the Giro is still ‘unfinished business’ after last year’s narrow defeat to Primoz Roglic. With Pogacar at the start this time, winning the case will of course be complicated. As we all know, there are no gifts given in Grand Tours. Usually “You get what you deserve. All we can do is make sure we’re prepared for whatever might happen.”

However, it must have come as a surprise to the British team leaders when they learned that the world’s most complete rider would also be focusing on La Maglia Rosa. “Well, I can only see that as a good thing. Pogacar is one of the great players in our sport, just like Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic. If you can compete against these guys, who are the best of their generation, it is a very inspiring challenge. Last year we We are close to beating Roglic, and we must not be afraid of that or stray from our ambitions. It is important to be realistic and develop a good strategy.”

What should this strategy look like? “It is of course difficult to go through all these scenarios now. We are not busy thinking about what Pogacar could do. I will say it another way: we will not follow a conservative path. We must be ready to be aggressive when we can, with our group. It is important to be ready and take advantage if We saw a weakness in him although I don’t see a lot of weaknesses at the moment (laughs).”

Arensman’s plan
At INEOS Grenadiers, bets are made on several horses. The experienced Geraint Thomas does not necessarily impose solo leadership, and this appears to be a conscious choice. “Last year we also had Laurens (De Plus, ed.) and Thymen (Arensman, ed.) in the top ten, which is a position we can play with sometimes. Not only in the tactical duel, but also simply in supporting the leaders. I still I remember how in the past Daniel Martin sometimes had to compete against big blocks in Quick-Step as the only climber, whereas these guys really thrive in a strong team the more leaders the better.”

Dempster previously said of Thomas that he could gain confidence from the Alpine Tour. But INEOS Grenadiers has appointed a designated second commander, who is from the Netherlands. “We sent Thamen into the Giro with a different preparation. Very consciously. His great strength is always in the third week, but if you look at the start of the Giro, it’s important to be at the level straight away in the very intense first week. “That’s why we thought Romandy , which is closer to the Gyrostart, will be a better preparation for it.”

“Thiemen has of course finished sixth in the Grand Tour twice, and he has already won the Queen’s Stage of the Vuelta. We have a lot of confidence in him as a Grand Tour rider within the team. He is a quiet guy, talented but not averse to working hard. These are all the ingredients of a good rider.” Our plan is to keep him in the world rankings and see how he can unleash his talent in the third week. His victory over Sierra Nevada seems a long way off, but Thiemen is still very young and it is important to improve every race and then maybe he can one day become a podium candidate Or more. We want to give him a platform to develop, improve his strengths, and reach his goals to the fullest extent.”

Last year, Thomas played a major role – Photo: Cor Vos

The team is in development
Although the two leaders have a chance to reach the podium, INEOS Grenadiers appears to be missing a major champion at the moment. It is no coincidence that the team has not won a Grand Tour since the 2021 Giro (then with Egan Bernal). “Owner Jim Radcliffe has really said it clearly. Every team wants to uncover that superior talent and retain them. We want to be the best talent factory we can be. That’s a focus on our team and a responsibility in my job, and in other team leaders and coaches.”

“Finding someone and helping them discover their potential has to be our main goal. The fact that we, for example, allowed someone like Tobias Voss to win his first road race on his ninth day with the team, giving him that foundation and confidence, that’s fantastic. Our ambition He is winning the Tour one day with one of these young riders.

Is INEOS Grenadiers going through a transition period? Among the old guard who – with Chris Froome at the forefront – dominated the era from 2012 to 2019, Thomas is one of the Last one standing. “We still have guys like G and Swifty (Ben Swift, ed.) on the team bus. It’s important to keep them, because in terms of the culture – the form of British cycling that we do – they still have a big influence on the team. On the other hand, there’s This ambition is with young talent. It is a reality of sports that generations pass over generations and things change, but we have the right experience. I hope that at the Giro we can once again show that we are on the right path to achieve our ambitions.