Luke Rowe explained the reasons behind the surprise switch to French world tour team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale when speaking on Rouleur Live on Friday, admitting that even being with the British team will not allow him to perform at his best.

After announcing his retirement on May 5, Welshman confirmed last month that he would leave Ineos Grenadiers after 13 years and join Decathlon AG2R as Sports director.

Lowe played a key role in Team Sky/Ineos Grenadiers, and the 34-year-old part was part of several teams that won the Grand Tour. 

But now no longer under contract with the British World Tour team, Lowe was honest and open about his decision to head to New pasture when speaking on stage at an event with broadcaster Matt Stevens.

"It was a difficult move, I honestly thought I would never leave the Ineos Grenadier," he admitted at the beginning of their chat.

Lowe reveals the thought process behind the switch and states: If you become too comfortable, you can go to the hamster wheel and go through a little movement, which I am kind of afraid for myself. If I stayed in Ineos I would just be too comfortable.

Having spent his entire professional career in British costume, Welshman said that being around the team for a long time affected his personal development

"You know everyone. You know how everything works. You know all the riders, and many of them, not only colleagues and peers, it was also tricky dynamic.

But with the exception of wanting a fresh start and space to push himself, Lowe reiterated that there was no reason for one and all consumption for his departure. 

"People say, "Well, why did you leave then?""There is no real reason. And, obviously, there's no real reason for what's going on, whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah," he explained while supporting the team. "I think there are a lot of people, there are a lot of people, and they really want to do something good again.

Keen to "rip the script" and try something different, Lowe also admitted that the role of Decathlon AG2R, like any other job, poses a risk in itself.

"The easy option [to stay in Ineos] is to know everything and be comfortable. Or there is this curveball you go 'phwoar."Let's go to it and see what happens, I may be unemployed after 6 months," he added with a wry smile.

The gamble Lowe suggests can be seen as the current purple patch for his new suitor, and the team recorded 2024 30 wins - their 3rd successful season, the best since 1999.

"I actually joined the team at a pretty tricky time. How do you follow up a great, great, successful year, and join after that year because you're setting something that almost fails

Lowe pointed to the long-term vision of the French team as a major trading clincher.

He revealed that he had spoken to several WorldTour teams after deciding to cut his wheels when his classic campaign was shortened after a nasty crash at E3. But no one compared to decathlon when it came to their short-term and long-term plans.

"After talking to so many teams, it's amazing - and I'm not focusing on them, not on Ineos - a lot of teams are going through the motions every year, like "Let's challenge every race and try to win." Let's get success.

"No one has a two, five, 10-year plan and a way to get there, but Decathlon AG2R was the spot.

"I went into them and they made this presentation and showed me everything, and it's like, "This is where we are now." And in fact, it was really realistic with where they are now. They were saying, "See all these victories we've had this year." It looks great on paper. That's not where we are. We are above [our weight]. 

"We have good luck. We had some very opportunistic victories."They said, "We won this, but that's not really where we are,""he told the audience, "and I really bought into it.

Rules The Rules Live was held from 11/14 to 16, with dozens of cycling stars and over 80 brand exhibitors at London's Truman Brewery. The event will return in 2025 to the 10th edition.