The first Dutchman to sign for Team Sky, Wout Poels, has told Cyclingnews that he signed with Team Sky as they said they could develop him as a rider.

“They said they would like me on the team. I had a really good conversation with Dave [Brailsford] and he gave me real confidence that they can make me a better rider in the future. That really appealed to me,” says Poels, who opted to switch after a single season with Omega Pharma.

His old employers focus on the Classics gave Poels little time to grow and he hopes that, as he enters his prime at 27, Sky can give him the chance to become a better GC rider in stage races and Grand Tours.

His role is similar to that at Omega Pharma, as he will be a mountain domestique for Chris froome, which he did in 2014 for ex-Sky man Rigoberto Uran. One of the most famous images from 2014 is of Poels destroying the GC challengers on Monte Zoncolan, where he was third from the GC men, finishing with Rafal Majka and just ahead of Fabio Aru, as Uran and Nairo Quintana were up the road, finishing 14 secodns ahead.

“My role will be to work in the high mountains, to support Froome there. I think I can do it like I did last year in the Giro with Rigoberto Urán. We’ve got a lot of guys on the team who are aiming to have a similar role so it’s a real challenge for me to get in the Tour selection, and it could be that when you get there your role is a little bit different. You might have to work earlier, but we will see.”

While Poels, who says he didn’t know Froome very well at all before they met at Sky’s pre-season camp in Mallorca, is keen to work for the Brit, he hopes he will have some chances to ride for himself. He was given the go-ahead in the Basque Country in 2014, and was the only won to stay with Contador and Valverde on the stage to Arrate, before attacking them again to win solo.

“I only knew him from races, and I don’t think we said much to each other beyond ‘Hi’. But he’s a really nice guy, very friendly,” says Poels, who is will join Froome on a pre-season high-altitude training camp in South Africa later this month.

“I hope I can lead the team at some races, but we will have to see what my programme is for the season. If I ride more with Froome then he is, of course, is the leader and you have to support him. But there may well be other races where he won’t be part of the team and I will maybe be able to do my own thing.”