Timen Arensmann (Team DSM) may have crossed the finish line of stage 6 of the Tour de Pollogne unhappy with his performance, but the young Dutch racer was finally able to claim his first career victory, despite hitting the crossbar several times! ...

Allenman has finished second twice at this year's Giro d'Italia, including in the final time trial after team leader Romain Bardet retired from the race on stage 13, but after finishing third in the final time trial at last year's Vuelta a España, the most near-misses The two events were the closest he came to a victory. Victory remained elusive until today.

In the Tour de Pollogne, in the second half of the season, the 22 year old got his long-awaited victory. However, he was only seven seconds behind second place Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers), and with 18 riders within a minute of each other in the final stage standings, it was a close race where the slightest mistake could make a huge difference.

"I didn't have the super legs that I wanted, and the power wasn't the same as usual," Allenman told reporters after the finish.

"In hindsight, maybe I started a little too fast. I didn't have enough energy on the steep slopes where I usually make the most time. [So I could have done better, I want to improve, and that's normal for a professional cyclist.

"But of course I'm happy with the win and I could have gone a bit faster, but in the end it was enough.

Allenman said that because the time trial was uphill, even though it was only 11 km, it felt longer than the distance on the map.

"I usually like longer TTs, but it was still an 18-minute time trial.

Allenman is currently in second place overall, 11 seconds behind Ethan Hayter (Ineos), and is clearly in good form. However, the Dutch rider says he has no idea what the race program will be like in the coming weeks." It's up to the teams, they will announce," he said.

In any case, his first professional win at Pollogne was a landmark moment, and Allenman was visibly proud.

"I really wanted to win the Giro for Romain and I almost got it. It was important for him and for DSM.

"But I'm really happy to keep riding and finally get my first win here and on the World Tour. It's one of the best days of my career."

As for his options going forward at Pollogne GC, despite his second place finish, Allenman does not expect many last-minute upsets and hinted that he might not want to take too many risks given the number of crashes that have hit Pollogne this year.

"Normally tomorrow [Friday], we'll stay upright, play it safe to the finish, and leave it to the sprinters," Allenman said.

"Normally tomorrow [Friday] we would stay upright and play it safe to the finish and let the sprinters do their thing.