'It's my own responsibility': Arensman addresses missing start time
Thymen Arensman suffered an unusual own goal at the Tour de France when he rolled down the start ramp of the stage 16 time trial more than 10 seconds after his scheduled start. The Dutch all-arounder, a pick for a top time on the stage, finished seventh on the day but likely would have gone one spot higher had he not been late to the start house.
There are past instances of riders missing their start, most famously defending Tour champion Pedro Delgado showing up minutes late to the prologue in 1989. But today, most teams use soigneurs, mechanics or other staff to help ensure riders are where they need to be on time, and with UCI rules requiring that riders be in the start zone 10 minutes before their scheduled start so that commissaires can check bikes, missed starts are exceptionally rare.
In brief remarks to media post-stage, Arensman addressed the issue. "It's my own responsibility," he said, but then appeared to deflect a bit. "I was in the [start] zone, but neither the team soigneur nor anyone from the UCI gave any indication that I needed to go." Arensman said he channelled the frustration into his ride, and in the end Remco Evenepoel was again peerless in the TT. But Arensman was still disappointed. "It's a shame, but there's little I can do about it now," he said. "The team and I just need to learn from it."
