World champion Michal Kwiatkowski will fly the rainbow jersey during Ardennes Week on the back of a strong start to the season.

Though yet to win in the rainbow bands – his lone victory this season was in the Paris-Nice prologue, a time trial – the Polish ace finished second at both the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice and eighth in the Tour of the Basque Country.

His World Championship win was evidence of his ability in the hilly one-day races, while his Ardennes performances last year saw him finish fifth at the Amstel Gold Race and third at both La Flèche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Like Valverde and Gilbert, he boasts a fast finish to add to his ability over the short, steep climbs and he will be desperate to earn a first victory in the rainbow jersey – a feat which Gilbert found hard to achieve two years ago.

Etixx-QuickStep are not short of options if Kwiatkowski does not succeed either – Michal Golas and Matteo Trentin are on the provisional startlist and you can expect to see Tony Martin at the fore early in the race.