Thymen Arensman set for Ineos Grenadiers after agreeing two-year deal

This article originally appeared on Velo News

VeloNews can confirm that young Dutch talent Thymen Arensman will race for Ineos Grenadiers in 2023 after the rider agreed terms of a two-year contract with the British team.

Arensman is currently racing the Giro d'Italia alongside Team DSM leader Romain Bardet. The 22-year-old signed for Team DSM mid-way through the 2020 campaign, having graduated from the U23 SEG Racing Academy.

A solid allrounder at the U23 level, Arensman finished third in that category's version of Paris-Roubaix in 2018, and backed that up with second place behind Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de l'Avenir during that same year.

As soon as he moved into the WorldTour in the summer of 2020 he made an instant impression, competing in his maiden grand tour at the Vuelta a Espana, where he came close to winning a stage on the road to Sabinanigo.

He returned to the race a year later and finished third in the race's final individual time trial but this season he has stepped up another level.

He took 16th at the UAE Tour at the start of the season and then went on to finish sixth at Tirreno-Adriatico and third at the Tour of the Alps, where he helped Bardet to the overall win.

After five stages at the Giro d'Italia, he sits in 13th place overall.

Earlier this week the Dutch website Wielerflits reported that Arensman had an offer from Ineos Grenadiers on the table and VeloNews can report that terms have been agreed on a two-year deal. Official transfers cannot be announced until the UCI’s August 1 deadline.

The signing continues Ineos' policy of recruiting young up-and-coming talent. Last winter it signed Magnus Sheffield, Ben Tulett, Ben Turner, and Luke Plapp to its ranks, while in April the team extended Tom Pidcock's terms until the end of 2027.

The move comes after Dylan van Baarle agreed to leave Ineos and sign a contract at Jumbo-Visma. Ineos still has a number of high-profile riders out of contract at the end of the season, including Adam Yates and Richard Carapaz.

VeloNews reached out to both Ineos Grenadiers and Team DSM for comment with the latter quickly confirming that the rider would not be with them in 2023.

“We would really have liked to have kept Thymen in the team, we did everything that we could but unfortunately he has apparently received an offer that he could not refuse. Thymen is a talented rider and he will always be welcome back here,” a spokesperson from the team told VeloNews.

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