Team Sky’s slim-line Classics squad will be headed up by Elia Viviani and Michal Kwiatkowski at Milan-San Remo, with Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe playing support roles until the campaign reaches Belgium.
With Geraint Thomas forgoing the entire Classics season, and Kwiatkowski not racing the Belgian segment of the spring, the British team head to Italy with two cards to play in the opening Monument of the season in Viviani and former world champion Kwiatkowski.
“Viviani can hopefully hang in there and produce a sprint. Then we have Kwiatkowski, who is a bit of a joker card, and we saw last year how strong he was. Hopefully he can spice the race up,” Rowe told Cyclingnews.
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“From then on, it’s me and Stannard as Thomas and Kwiatkowski have chosen not to race any other classics. It’ll be me and Ian with joint leadership for the remaining four Classics.”
Rowe, who recently finished sixth in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and third in Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, completed Paris-Nice on Sunday, helping teammate Sergio Henao claim the overall title. The emphasis now shifts towards the Classics, and after Kwiatkowski’s win in Strade Bianche, the British team is brimming with confidence. Even off-the bike reports surrounding an on going UKAD investigation into the team hasn’t disrupted their winning pattern.
“We don’t do De Panne and we miss Dwars door Vlaanderen. So for me, it’s San Remo, E3 Harelbeke, Gent Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix. We don’t do Dwars door Vlaanderen. We don’t have the biggest roster of Classics riders. We’re a nine-man band and with that many one-day races in an eight-day period, it puts a bit of a stress on the Classics squad."
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