And despite being in the latter years of his career, he admits that the pressure is something he wants and seems to enjoy when being part of a top team. “You might think that openly expressing those ambitions puts an unhealthy amount of pressure on the guys, but I actually think it’s a very good thing. Elite sport is simply a different world.”

He also believes that the entry of Decathlon in 2024 has made the whole change. Budget wise for a starters, but also material wise: “In the past, the team had to make ends meet. If we wanted certain components for the bikes, like wheels, we chose a particular brand because they paid extra on top of supplying those products. As a result, you sometimes end up with a lesser-quality product.”

olivernaesen

Naesen continues to be a strong classics rider in his own right. @Sirotti

Language barriers have been eliminated 

“If Decathlon calls that wheel brand to sponsor the team, there’s a real chance that Decathlon will overnight become that company’s biggest customer, because they’ll then put those wheels on all their bikes in the store as standard. For that reason, that wheel brand is happy to give the team a few hundred wheels in return,” he explains. “That’s clout that other teams don’t have”.

But aside from that, language and culture wise there has also been a big shift. Naesen came into the team at the time to be a part of Romain Bardet’s almost 100% French block to aim for the Grand Tours, and over the past few years the situation has remained rather similar even with the departure of Bardet. But the team has moved away – although the presence of Paul Seixas is certain to keep the French crowd fully behind Decathlon.

“The team wanted to shed that French reputation to be attractive to foreign riders. Not that there’s anything wrong with speaking French per se, but it can be a limiting factor in recruiting good riders,” he explains. With the likes of Olav Kooij, Tiesj Benoot and Matthew Riccitello coming in this winter, that problem may be behind already.

“A few years ago, Brent Van Moer was close to joining the team, but he told me he wasn’t interested because his French isn’t good enough,” Naesen reveals. “We still occasionally speak French with staff members, but when the boss is on the spot, you shouldn’t start in French. It’s a good thing, too, with those Dutch riders joining the team”.

And Naesen will also have a new set of leaders to work for, including Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij, who is having a brand new leadout with pieces assembled from several other teams. The 35-year is eager to have a proven winner come into the team who can increase the win tally significantly. “He’s only 24, but he’s already a world-class sprinter. That guy doesn’t even need to improve anything to win twenty races with the team’s full support. That’s already half the season.”