Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing)
Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing)
Another man to try his luck solo at Milan-San Remo, only to be denied by an eyeballs-out effort in the bunch from Luca Paolini (Katusha), Greg van Avermaet is fast becoming a serious contender in the cobbled Classics.
The Belgian BMC Racing man, 29, was tenth at E3 last year, before being narrowly beaten by Cancellara at the Ronde.
He has proved his form this time out with a stage win on the uphill finish of stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico – Sagan and Cancellara being among the men he beat – and also fifth place overall in Qatar and second at Strade Bianche.
His penchant for late attacks is well-suited to the Harelbeke parcours, especially with the Tiegemberg peaking just 22km from the finish line.
Team-mate Daniel Oss is another man to keep a close eye on after he finished third in 2013, and if Milan-San Remo is anything to go by he too is well up for an attack.
BMC Racing have been in good form so far this season, buoyed by Rohan Dennis’ Tour Down Under win, and the American team were very active on the road to San Remo on Sunday.
Carry that sort of form to Harelbeke and the men in red and black could well be celebrating victory, with Van Avermaet looking slightly more likely to deliver it than team-mate Oss.