Slovak ace Peter Sagan has a point to prove after narrowly missing out to Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) last year.

The Cannondale man has made his ambitions for complete domination of the Classics clear and after a number of runners-up spots and Gent-Wevelgem victory in 2013, he is among the leading contenders to win Milan-San Remo.

The re-worked course is likely to play into the hands of Sagan, whose aggressive riding style will likely come to the fore on the final climb of the Poggio, typically the decisive section of the race.

Sagan’s narrow defeat last year will only make him hungrier for success this time out, and if he can show the same attacking intent which earned him a stage victory in Oman, he could certainly better last year’s result.

Sagan will continue his preparations for Milan-San Remo at Strade Bianche, where last year he setup team-mate Moreno Moser for victory, and Tirenno-Adriatico, as he did in 2013.

The 24-year-old is a fast finisher but lacks the out-and-out sprint of the likes of Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol), however his explosive riding style when the roads heads skyward mark him out as a leading contender.