"I just didn't want my time wasted" - INEOS stalwart Luke Rowe explains how behind-the-scenes structural difficulties impacted his decision to leave

One of those riders that has become completely synonymous with his team, the news that upon his retirement, INEOS Grenadiers stalwart and long time road captain Luke Rowe would depart for a sports director role at the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team came as a surprise to many. Now though, the Welshman has opened up on the decision to move on, despite the option of remaining at INEOS.

"I never thought I'd really leave the team," Rowe explained in an interview with GCN. "I thought that's where I would spend most of my post-cycling career, that that was the natural thing to do, and then when that crash did happen in March it was clear that was the end of my career. You take a step back and you go 'What am I going to do?' The first team I spoke to was INEOS and they kind of laid it out. 'Right OK, thank you very much' and then I started speaking to other teams. I just feel like change is good sometimes."

Read also

ANALYSIS | Tom Pidcock drama, INEOS in decline, ITV losing the Tour de France... What’s happening to British cycling?

Whilst Rowe ultimately opted for the aforementioned move to the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, he admits the option to continue as part of INEOS Grenadiers' new backroom staff was on the table. "One of my big concerns with staying at INEOS was that I want to make a change," he explains though, having previously described the team as 'underperforming'. "If it's here now then I want it to become better. Whatever department I was in, you want to improve. Honestly, the biggest reason I was scared was if I wanted to make a change then it has to go through too many people and the change doesn't end up happening."

The potential bureaucracy and red tape involved in making any big decisions at INEOS ultimately made Rowe feel as if a move away was the more attractive option. "I just didn't want my time wasted and that was my biggest fear. It wasn't financial, it wasn't any negativity towards an individual or the team as a whole. I've got a lot of time for them. I was scared that I'd get lost in a big organisation. It's also more than a cycling team now, it's part of a global business and it's owned by INEOS, not sponsored by them," he reveals.

"At Team Sky there was always Dave Brailsford]at the top. You might have run things by a few people but the buck stopped with him. Now, there's more levels above and above," Rowe concludes. "Certainly, the right people can make decisions where things could change overnight, if something big needs to be changed then it goes to the top dog and with a click of the fingers it's done. For me, I'd be a long way down the pecking order and it'd have to go up through the chain of command."

Read also

"The focus will not be on the GC as much as before" - New INEOS sports director lays out plan for success going forward