'I never thought about this as a rider' - Luke Rowe reveals emotional aspect of DS role

Luke Rowe has opened up about both the motivations and challenges of his first year as sports director at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, including the emotional toll of witnessing crashes from the team car.

Speaking in front of an audience at Rouleur Live, the 35-year-old Welshman, who retired at the end of 2024 after a 13-year career with Ineos, described how witnessing crashes from the team car has affected him in ways he never considered as a rider.

"The worst thing about being DS, and I never thought about this as a rider. You're in the car, you're driving along... and you hear a crash on the radio," said Rowe.

"You're thinking, 'I hope that isn't one of ours,' and if you don't hear your name, you go past the crash. Any rider who has crashed and is not seriously hurt, is stood up, and they're on their bike, and if their bike is ok, they're gone."

"So, by the time you pass the crash, any rider who is still here is hurt. And it's like, that's someone's son, husband, and whoever it is, your team, another team, old rider, teammate, someone you disliked even, whoever it is, you're like 'that's a poor guy and he is in a lot of pain.'"

“I never thought about that, and as you’re driving through, you’re just seeing grown men, in a lot of pain, sometimes unconscious, bleeding, broken bones, to go past, that’s the shit part."

Rowe admitted that this perspective represents a stark contrast to the joy of winning, a cruel aspect of professional sport. "When you're racing, being part of guys winning races, it's fantastic, it's a success, but when you see that, it's like that's someone's little boy down there and he is in a mess, and that's the part that I hate."

Beyond this, Rowe has admitted he thoroughly enjoys his new role and has a major target which keeps him motivated. This ambition is to win a monument, something that Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale have never done in its long, rich history.

“No two days are the same. It really does motivate me. I’m very much in the Classics part of it,” said Rowe. "I was looking at it the other day, the team has existed for 34 years and in the five monuments our best ever results are three second-places and two third-places. We have never won a monument, but that is super motivating," said Rowe.

"I could have gone to another team, stayed at Ineos... but if I could join this team and make a small, something difference to do some good things, and if we were to win a monument after five podiums in 34 years, and fail to win one, to me, that just gets me out of bed in the morning."

When asked about a potential pathway to achieving this success, Rowe highlighted the importance of equipment and particularly recruitment, but emphasised a methodical approach.

"There's a long list, there is equipment, recruitment is obviously the biggest one. You know, if we could sign Mathieu van der Poel tomorrow, we would have a very good chance of winning a monument. But that's the easy way, and that's the expensive way,” Rowe joked.

"To me, it's like we're on a mission. When can we achieve this? How can we achieve this? And let's just slowly get there."