For all their stage race success, Team Sky have so far failed to replicate anything like it on the Flandrian bergs.

While Classics specialists Juan Antonio Flecha won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in the team’s debut season, and Chris Sutton and Mark Cavendish both found success at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, victories have been few and far between. But after one cobbled race this season, Team Sky already have a win after Ian Stannard outsprinted Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) to claim victory on Saturday.

Attention last year was on Geraint Thomas, but a string of crashes meant his fourth places at the Omloop and E3-Herelbeke were as good as it got. Edvald Boasson Hagen, too, has been seen as a possible contender, while Bernie Eisel could well be a dark horse. But, in Stannard, could Sky’s search for a man to lead their Classics campaign be over?

The Essex-born rider has earned a reputation as a tireless domestique but his sixth place finish at Milan-San Remo last year showed he is capable of mixing it with the best of them. While the rider nicknamed ‘Yogi’ perhaps lacks an out-and-out sprint, he knows how to time his attacks to make the most of his ability as one of the strongest diesels in the peloton.

One swallow does not a summer make, but, in Stannard, Team Sky have a rider to fly the flag at some of the toughest races in the calendar.