"We fought until the end. We can be proud" - Axel Laurance reflects on rollercoaster 2025 Tour de France for the INEOS Grenadiers

After a disappointing start to the 2025 Tour de France, the INEOS Grenadiers did eventually secure success at the Grand Tour as Thymen Arensman took home a pair of stage wins. For French prospect Axel Laurance, the race was a showing of just how mentally strong the INEOS Grenadiers team are.

“It wasn't easy to lose Filippo Ganna early in the race in a crash. He could have done great things in the breakaways; he could have won the time trial in Caen. It hurt, but we managed to recover,” explains Laurance in conversation with DirectVelo after the Tour. “Little by little, we started to feel better.”

“We realise that in the first few days we gave the impression that we weren’t doing anything, but those stages weren’t exactly favourable for us. In the first few days, I was the rider the team expected to perform, but I fell a little short," Laurance admits. "After that, we showed our strength. Even after losing Carlos Rodriguez, we didn't let ourselves get discouraged. We fought until the end. We can be proud.“

As touched upon, INEOS got off to a slow start, with Laurance's own hunt for a stage win ultimately proving fruitless. Still only 24 years old though, the Frenchman realises time is on his side in this regard. “I can be pleased with my second Tour de France. This time, I was an important factor in the race. I tried several times to win a stage. That's good for the future," he assesses. "I learned a lot, I saw that I could compete with the best, which is positive.”

“Many riders come for a stage win, but in the end, only a few make it. I was combative, and I never gave up. I worked hard. I also saw that I could compete with the very best. I think I can be satisfied with the physical level I showed,” he adds. “I was consistent from start to finish, without any real drop in form. That's very good. Considering that I've been fairly consistent since the start of the season, this is a pretty important statistic for the future.”

So ultimately, Laurance feels he leaves the Tour better than when he came in. "I'm trying not to rush things. Of course, I would have loved to win a stage this Tour, but it was clearly not the right time. I still have a lot to learn before I can really go for it,” he concludes his analysis. “This Tour can also help me for the next races. I hope it won't be long before I can win a nice race.”