With the Tour de France starting in his native Holland and MTN-Qhubeka being awarded a wild card for the race, Theo Bos is desperate to make the team and has called it “a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“Everybody wants to do the Tour,” Bos told Cyclingnews. “This year it starts in Holland. This must be a goal and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I may never have this opportunity again.”

But Bos isn’t just targeting the Tour, he wants to win early and then continue to do so throughout the season.

“I think that the potential is in the team to do a Tour but we have to show it from January on. The most important thing is to show ourselves and that we can win races to be attractive for the crowd and for the organisers,” he said. “I want to be good right from the start of the season to get the team victories and get them in the picture.”

Bos is also looking to ride Paris-Roubaix, saying he wants to do as well as possible but winning the vent may be unrealistic for him. He says he will most likely work for riders like Edvald Boasson Hagen.

“It is a race that suits me but to win it is a bit unrealistic. I think I can hang on and with a few other guys like Edvald, who can hang on really well. I am happy to help him in the deep final. I am happy to do that. It’s a compliment from Brian, I like that he’s said but I will have to see it to believe it,” said Bos. ““It’s a really big challenge this race so I’m really looking forward to competing there. I think that’s the focus for the beginning of the season.”

Bos says he isn’t at all phased by leaving the WorldTour and couldn’t be happier with his new team and says they are set up very professionally. He says he can draw motivation from riding with such a team who believe in values like the Qhubeka charity.

“I’m super pleased, I’m super happy with the team. I think that it’s a great adventure and it gives me a lot of energy to be here and days like today [visiting a Qhubeka project] give me the energy to perform well and to enjoy cycling…. it’s a special team because they have a project attached to it, Qhubeka. It’s unique. Of course it’s not the most important thing but it is nice that they are with this team.”