Stage six was far from pan-flat, as Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) will attest to, so served as ideal preparation for Mark Cavendish’s bid to win Milan-San Remo.

Team officials have already stated that they go into the race with a two-pronged attack, with Tom Boonen expected to be named in the final squad, too – but should it be Mark Cavendish they back, then he has proved he is ready to attempt to win a second La Primavera title.

Cavendish isn’t the only man in form, however. John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) and Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE) acquitted themselves well on the undulating parcours of Paris-Nice, while Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) has been arguably the form sprinter this season, even if he failed to make the selection on stage six of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Peter Sagan (Cannondale), meanwhile, will be desperate to make amends for his narrow defeat to Gerald Ciolek last year and Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) should arrive at the race fresh after withdrawing from the latter stages of Paris-Nice to recover from illness.

And while Cavendish will be among the riders ready to win, a star-studded line-up is due for the first Monument of the season and picking a champion at this stage is almost impossible.