Just six days after his first, Thymen Arensman scored a second stage win at the Tour de France on stage 19, securing a huge boost to his confidence and to Ineos Grenadiers' Tour campaign as the race nears completion.
Attacking from the GC group on the climb to La Plagne, Arensman held off Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) to grab victory, adding to the stage he won at Superbagnères on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Dutchman had traditionally targeted GC in the last few Grand Tours, picking two sixth-place finishes at the Giro d'Italia and fifth at the Vuelta a España, but for this Tour, he focused on stages, and the choice has certainly paid off.
After falling ill and faltering at this year's Giro, coming away with two stage wins at this year's Tour is set to be a boost to Arensman's belief in himself, and perhaps his future in returning to GC ambitions.
"Maybe I can be a bit more confident in my own capabilities, that I can do it, I can win two stages in the Tour de France, and I have it in my body to be with the very best," he said after stage 19. "So maybe it helps. But I'm a human still, I have doubts, but as always, I just do my absolute best."
Going up against the GC riders to win the stage – rather than from a break – also made the win extra meaningful, but Arensman pointed to his whole process as a reason to be more confident, not just his success here.
"Winning a stage from the breakaway, but also winning a stage man to man to the GC contenders is super special," he said.
"But for me, it's not really the two stage victories, it's more like the preparation I had after being sick from the Giro towards the Tour, how I took care of my body, the choices I made, just in general the preparation I had with my coach. We changed some small things this season, I'm more calm, I trust myself a little bit more, trust the process, and I think that's the main thing I take towards the next step and the next years in my career.
"I can be proud of those changes we made and it looks like they're working, so I'll take it."
For Arensman's sports director Zak Dempster, being able to try something different has been a benefit to the Dutch rider and perhaps some relief from the race-long tension and pressure that riding for GC entails.
"It goes for all riders, not just Thymen," he said on the topic of pressure. "He's an adult, but they're just kids. They're here to race their bikes as best they can, but it is professional sport. I think it's only normal that part of that process is trying new things and going through stuff.
"It's definitely a different kettle of fish, going for stages rather than GC. It's less of a constant, you can let the foot off the gas on some days, go a bit more aggressive on others, it's a more fun way of racing if we're honest. So I think he's really enjoyed that and he's capitalised on it. Two stage wins and a second, it's not bad at all."
It's certainly not bad for Arensman personally, but also won't be a bad way for Ineos to finish the Tour, which they started with the ambition to win stages after a relatively light haul here the last few years, and to ride for GC with Carlos Rodríguez.
The Spaniard had a tough start to the Tour and lost time, but looked to be back into it in the third week, only for his race to end after a crash and a fractured pelvis on stage 17.
That was a blow to Ineos' overall ambitions, but with Arensman's second win, there is a feeling that they will go away from this race happy – albeit still striving for more.
"Carlos was on the way back, he had that really rough patch, and it was really unfortunate to lose him to that crash, you just really feel for the guy and all the work him and the team had put in, but that's part of cycling," Dempster said.
"Today we can just be really proud that we've won two stages, but definitely tomorrow we're hatching plans, and winning breeds winning so I'm sure that the guys will come out swinging tomorrow."
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