Team Sky have enjoyed a successful season on the cobbles so far this year – Ian Stannard winning the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Geraint Thomas third at E3 Harelbeke. In between, Ben Swift has taken third at Milan-San Remo and all of a sudden Team Sky are looking like real contenders on the one-day scene. Stannard’s injury means Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen will share team leadership but if E3 Harelbeke is anything to go by, it is the Welshman who is in the best form.
He looked strong as soon as the race was split by crashes on the narrow roads and proved it with a phenomenal ride. His attack split the bunch as they approached the Kwaremont and when Peter Sagan (Cannondale) he matched him to form what proved to be the race-winning break. There, working against the Omega Pharma-Quickstep duo of Stijn Vandenbergh and Niki Terpstra and with Sagan’s sprinting prowess, Thomas put in a huge shift to keep the four together and earn third place. His backing for the Ronde includes Sir Bradley Wiggins, whose form many will be keen to see ahead of Paris-Roubaix. A repeat of Thomas’ show of strength on the Oude Kwaremont will be more than enough to satisfy the British fans however.
