Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) completed a masterclass long-range breakaway victory on stage 4 of the Tour of the Alps, attacking 80km from the finish on a brutally tough Queen stage and holding off the chasers in miserable conditions into Obertilliach.
With his first win for three years and first for Ineos Grenadiers, Arensman also moved into the overall lead of the race with one day of racing to come, building enough of an advantage to hold off a valiant effort from Michael Storer (Tudor) to defend the lead.
On a dramatic day of attacking GC racing, Storer was left isolated and four minutes down on the Dutchman with three climbs to come.
The Australian was forced to attack and dropped the remainder of the favourites 35km from the finish, before soloing his way to third with another great performance, albeit not strong enough to keep green.
Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) was second on the day after also attacking in the action-packed middle of the stage, crossing the line 1:18 down on Arensman, with Storer following him in just five seconds later.
Arensman will enter stage 5 with an 11-second lead on Storer, with the two likely to fight out the battle for green between them.
Gee will start Friday in third overall, 2:15 off the lead.
“Unbelievable. It started to get very cold right from the start, but I know that in these types of weather conditions, I can handle myself well,” said Arensman, before explaining his decision to attack from so far out.
“At the end of the descent, everyone was suffering from the cold, and Lidl-Trek raised the pace, reducing the group to just a few riders. At that point, I decided to give it my all and attacked.
“There was a brief moment when I thought that I was actually too far from the finish line to attack alone, but I felt good, and I knew that everyone was definitely tired because of the cold.”
Having managed to hold a lead through to the finish, Arensman will return to a parcours in Lienz on Friday to try and secure overall victory. It’s a stage route he knows, having raced it and got in a move with Storer at the Tour of the Alps in 2022.
“I remember the stage from a few years ago. Now I’m defending the leader’s jersey,” he said. “That will be difficult, but after today, everyone will feel their legs.”
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