Peter Sagan opened his Tinkoff-Saxo account in perfect time at Tirreno-Adriatico, winning in the rain on the final day after a number of near misses.

That his victory came in adverse conditions, on a day when Tinkoff-Saxo had led the way from the off, gave a glimpse of what we could expect to see at La Primavera.

It was a tactic his former employers Cannondale liked to deploy – and did so to good effect 12 months ago – and it is a tactic Tinkoff-Saxo are perfectly capable of deploying at Milan-San Remo too.

The Slovakian champion was the winter’s big transfer and has plenty to prove to his new employers as the Classics campaign starts.

Inside the top ten on 12 occasions already this season, his victory at Tirreno-Adriatico is his lone success but the form is clearly there.

He was bitterly disappointed to miss out to Gerald Ciolek two years ago, but with his ability as a rouleur it can only be a matter of time before he does triumph in San Remo – so why not this year?