Laurens De Plus: 'I want to prove myself and show what I can do at Ineos Grenadiers'
The Belgian climber looks to put a troubled 2020 behind him as he joins the British squad in 2021
Laurens De Plus says he can't wait to kickstart his career at Ineos Grenadiers in the upcoming 2021 season after only appearing for former team Jumbo-Visma four times in 2020.
The reason for De Plus' lack of racing was because of an ongoing hip injury alongside the issues of the Covid-19 global pandemic surrounding the whole year.
>>> Wout van Aert and Jumbo-Visma reportedly close to agreeing contract extension
Speaking to Sporza's podcast, De Tribune, De Plus says: "I was very happy when I was allowed to put on the Ineos outfit for the first time on January 1. It gave me an adrenaline boost, I am really looking forward to be able to shine again this year as in 2019.
"[2020] was a bit disappointing. Due to the lockdown, the entire season was crammed into three months. That hip injury before the restart of the season was therefore very inconvenient.
"Thanks to [Primož] Roglič's victory in Liège, I was still able to say goodbye to the team [Jumbo-Visma] in a nice way. Otherwise it would have been sour."
The 25-year-old says he is really looking forward to showing what he can do in front of his new team-mates and to aim for some big targets.
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De Plus' brother has been with the British team for some time as a mechanic which reassured him that the team is an ideal fit.
The Belgian isn't coming to Ineos as yet another domestique in the mountains, and while he will have to support the big names, he will also have the lead at races like the Ardennes Classics.
He continued: "It will not be as everyone probably thinks, I really have ambition.
"We agreed with the team that I will still go to the Grand Tours and support the leaders. But in certain races I will be allowed to take my own chances."
Ineos have allowed De Plus to choose some races in his race calendar: "I have indicated that the Ardennes Classics are close to my heart. The plan is to be good there and to get a free role."
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Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
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