Peter Sagan announced his attention to take a clean sweep of cobbled Classic victories when Cannondale revealed the Slovak would be returning to Paris-Roubaix for the first time since 2011.

Given he returned from northern Europe with just one victory – outsprinting his fellow escapees at E3 Harelbeke – it could be said Sagan has failed to put his words into action but it’s clear he should now be considered a major contender.

Sagan has learned the lessons of his crushing defeats to Fabian Cancellara in 2013, showing much more tactical awareness this time out. And while those tactics didn’t always work out – the Ronde being a classic example, as his decision to try and slow the bunch and wait for his team-mates backfired – at 24 years old Sagan has plenty of time to put that right.

A first Monument victory continues to elude the Cannondale Pro Cycling rider, but it can only be a matter of time before he adds one of cycling’s greatest prizes to his ever-expanding palmares.