Like every year, Simon Gerrans will be one of the favourites for Ardennes classics. The Australian rider is currently in Spain where he hones form to be competitive in a few days.

He finished in 2nd place in stage 3 of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. The result give him confidence for the next days. "It was a great move by Steve, he’s become an expert in attacking in the finals. There was a little bit of a hesitation behind and that was enough to give him the gap to take the stage, and I was kind of best of the rest", he told Cyclingnews. "Amstel and Liege will be my big objectives, and it’s always nice to get some results here in the Basque Country, but in the big scheme of things, it’s all about getting ready for the Ardennes. That’s the big one, and I feel like everything is on track."

The Orica-GreenEDGE rider is really consistent in one-day races. He won the 2009 GP Ouest-France, the 2012 Milan–San Remo, the 2012 and 2014 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, the 2014 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and he taken stage wins in all three Grand Tours.