"But there were a lot of riders fighting for the same opportunities," Laurance continues, hinting that his chances to be a team leader were limited going forward at Alpecin. "At INEOS Grenadiers I have more freedom. I thought: I'm still young and it's still easy to adapt. If I don't take the opportunity now, it might not come again. I had to try, because INEOS Grenadiers is one of the best teams in the world. If I want to take another step up, I think this team is good for me."
That's not to say Laurance has anything negative to say about Van der Poel though, in fact it's the complete opposite. "Mathieu is a very relaxed person. He never has any stress. That certainly helped me a lot last season," the French star explains, noting
Milano-Sanremo as a perfect example of that help given to him by Van der Poel. "I didn't stress before a Milano-Sanremo either. I thought: if Van der Poel doesn't have stress, why should I? That was a big learning point for me, because that gives him a lot of power in the race."