{"id":257539,"date":"2025-11-11T21:46:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/257539\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T21:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:46:14","slug":"after-the-finish-i-collapsed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/257539\/","title":{"rendered":"After the finish I collapsed"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cAfter the finish I collapsed\u201dArensman\u2019s first Tour de France stage win came atop Luchon-Superbagn\u00e8res, where he held off world champion Pogacar to take a solo victory from the breakaway. Days later at La Plagne, he stunned the favourites again, launching a late attack from the group of GC contenders and narrowly denying Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> by two seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went all-out. Over the limit,\u201d Arensman recalled. \u201cAfter the finish I collapsed. That\u2019s how deep you have to go when you\u2019re fighting to hold off guys like Pogacar and Vingegaard.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a moment of catharsis for a rider who, despite flashes of brilliance since his early days at Sunweb, had spent years struggling to unlock his full potential.<\/p>\n

\"ThymenArensman<\/p>\n

Arensman was completely spent as he crossed the line<\/p>\n

A new mindset, a new Arensman<\/p>\n

Heading into the 2025 season, Arensman decided to rip up the script. He brought in a new coach, adjusted his training, and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 transformed his mental approach to racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it\u2019s only cycling,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me as a rider, and for the people who love this sport, it\u2019s an important side issue \u2014 but still a side issue. In the past, cycling became the main thing in my life, and that only leads to conflict with yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of perspective freed him from the pressure that had so often held him back. When he lost time in the early stages of the Giro d\u2019Italia, he refused to panic. When he won a stage at the Tour of the Alps, he stayed grounded. And when the Tour came around, he finally rode with the freedom and self-belief that had been missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople only see the result \u2014 not the process\u201d<\/p>\n

Although his Tour wins earned the headlines, Arensman revealed that his third place at Paris-Nice was the most meaningful result of his season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause my coach and I know what lies behind that performance,\u201d he explained. \u201cPeople might just see a podium photo or a name in the results, but there\u2019s a long process behind it \u2014 one that\u2019s still ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was in Paris-Nice that Arensman realised his new approach was working, both mentally and physically \u2014 confirmation that stepping away from self-imposed pressure could lead to his best-ever form.<\/p>\n

Eyes on the next chapter<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to 2026, Arensman plans to target the general classification in one Grand Tour while devoting more time to refining his time-trialling. And if his words are any indication, the Dutchman\u2019s renewed mindset might be his most powerful weapon of all.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t claim to have all the answers, but his reflections suggest a rider who has rediscovered balance and belief. The Arensman who lines up next season will do so with the same simple mindset that carried him to his Tour stage wins: give everything, accept the outcome, and move forward.<\/p>\n

For the Dutchman, that\u2019s not a slogan \u2014 it\u2019s the lesson earned from going \u201cover the limit\u201d and crossing the line utterly spent.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAfter the finish I collapsed\u201dArensman\u2019s first Tour de France stage win came atop Luchon-Superbagn\u00e8res, where he held…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-257539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}