After a somewhat forced exit from Alpecin-Deceuninck, Laurance brings van der Poel-like mindset to his new INEOS squad

The French climber's transfer was the talk of the town last winter. Alpecin-Deceuninck would have liked to keep him but spent most of its budget on substantial contract extensions for Jasper Philipsen and Van der Poel. So, Laurance was forced to look for another team. Teams were lining up because, in 2024, the puncher showed that he had a lot of talent.

After winning a stage in the CRO Race with B&B Hotels-KTM in 2022, he rode for Alpecin-Deceuninck's development team at a lower level in 2023. In 2024, he switched to the professional ranks and won stages in the Star of Bessèges, the Tour of Catalonia, and the Tour of Norway. In the latter race, he also won the GC.

After not achieving any top results in the Ardennes classics, he debuted in a Grand Tour in the summer and immediately followed that up with the Tour de France. When it was announced that Laurance was leaving, INEOS offered him a two-year contract. For the British team, he finished eighth in the GP La Marseillaise in 2025, fifth in the Clásica Jaén, rode four stages in the top ten in Catalonia, and finished second in a difficult mountain stage in the Basque Country.

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"Things are going well; I've had a pretty good start to the season," says Laurance with a sense of understatement. "I'm in good shape, although it was a shame we had to call it a day in the Star of Bessèges (due to a strike by the teams and riders, ed.) and that I was good in the Ruta del Sol but had some bad luck. So I haven't been able to ride for the win yet, but I have been consistent."

This is consistent with the approach of virtually the entire INEOS team, which has been taking the initiative, attacking, and competing in the finals since the first race of 2025. "Everyone on the team said: We have to start winning again. The main difference is that we no longer just focus on the GC. With Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, we have two top riders who fill the important spots in the GC, so no matter how strong you are, you're riding for the top 3 or top 5. It wasn't about winning anymore."

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"We started racing without that focus on the GC," Laurance explains. "From the start of the season, we rode to win, which took some getting used to for many of us. The focus on the classification was so deep-rooted that everyone had to switch gears in the winter. The focus also had to be on every race because the level is so high today that every race is very important. It's no longer just about the WorldTour."

For Laurance, it's business as usual because, at Alpecin-Deceuninck, he was already used to an attacking style with Van der Poel and Philipsen. "At Alpecin-Deceuninck, I always rode for the win, never for the GC. That's why I wanted to join INEOS Grenadiers and assist them. I always had that freedom, so little has changed for me regarding racing. The focus is now also on winning, although the riders I'm riding with are different now."

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While the Alpecin-Deceuninck team is divided into one-day races and stage wins, INEOS Grenadiers has quite a few GC contenders who suddenly have to go on the offensive. Laurance says there is little difference between a van der Poel or an Egan Bernal. "Ultimately, you're riding your own bike, not van der Poel's or Filippo Ganna's. You don't see the race from their point of view, so I mainly focus on myself."

"But it's nice to have the experience of riding with different riders," continues the Frenchman, who is also improving himself through his experiences with different teams. "Every rider is different; every rider has a different profile. Now I race and train more with real climbers, and I'm getting a lot out of that."

Enough to be among the front runners in the Ardennes in 2025? Laurance hopes to be a dangerous outsider in the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. "The Ardennes classics are the big goal for me in this first part of the season, after learning a lot in big races like Milan-Sanremo, Catalonia, and the Basque Country."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])