When speaking about his former team, Team Ineos, Bahrain McLaren climber Wout Poels stresses that he "has no regrets" about the five years he spent with the British WorldTour team. He also makes it equally clear that at this point in his career, it was time to move on to a new team.

Once upon a time, Poels was touted as a potential Grand Tour contender. However, that project seems to have stopped with Team Ineos. He told Cycling News that his role as the top wingman in the mountains for Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, and others hit a glass ceiling when he tried to find his ceiling.

The plethora of GC leaders on Team Ineos, including three Tour de France winners, may have had a lot to do with that. Poels, who already had limited opportunities to challenge for GC, arguably took another hit this winter when he signed 2019 Giro d'Italia champion Richard Kalapas.

At the start of Friday's Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana stage 3, Poels told Cycling News that he was "a little stuck in a bit of a fixed role, especially in the Grand Tour."

"I really enjoyed my time at Ineos, so I have no regrets. But now it was time to change teams, and that's what I went for."

His role with Bahrain McLaren is not yet fully established, but he says he will likely only compete in the Tour de France. Landa will be the leader, but I'll probably have a free role. We'll see what happens in the next few months and we'll figure it out from there."

Landa is a former teammate of Poels at Team Sky.

If the freedom is finally granted, it will be a big change for the Dutch climber, who has had limited options for years. Poels told Cycling News that the race program will remain the same.

"There will be the UAE Tour, but after that there will be the Ardennes Classics and probably the Dauphiné. No changes."

"We had a good winter and we have a new team. Of course, with a new team and new friends, especially after being with the same team for five years, you can get a little nervous. But it's a really nice environment here."

Poels, winner of Valencia a few years ago, is taking things a bit more calmly this time around. He finished 18th in the first summit finish on Thursday, but said, "I only lost a few seconds in the last 800 meters, but it wasn't too bad."

"It's the first race of the year, so Saturday's stage will be hard. But in general I feel good."

Poels would not yet reveal his specific goals for 2020, but he is aware that this is an important year for him. It's a fresh start, I have a few new roles, and I just want to get good results. It sounds simple, but it's complicated.