Tony Gallopin has got his time as a Lotto Belisol rider off to a solid start and is now ready for his first major test of the season. He is expected to lead his team on home soil at the "Race to the Sun", the Paris-Nice, and as a classics rider he is pleased with the nature of the course.

Prior to the 2014 season, Tony Gallopin was signed by Lotto Belisol as the team tried to make its roster deeper. In past years, it had been hugely dependent on strong performances from captains Jurgen Van Den Broeck, André Greipel, Jurgen Roelandts, and Jelle Vanendert but lacked the dept to be competitive in all major races on the calendar.

Shortly after signing his contract, Gallopin proved his worth when he won the Clasica San Sebastian by arriving solo at the finish in one of the hardest one-day races of the year. The Frenchman is expected to offer Lotto Belisol more options in the Ardennes and cobbled classics where he will share leadership duties with Vanendert and Roelandts respectively.

Gallopin made his debut for his new team in the GP La Marseillaise and had his first big ambitions for the Etoile de Besseges early this month. He did well when he sprinted to fourth on the tough third stage and a solid final time trial saw him end 9th on GC.

Last week he did the Tour of Oman where he had original intentions of targeting the GC. Those ambitions ultimately came to nothing as he struggled on the steep Green Mountain but he played an instrumental role in the team's success that saw Greipel take three stage wins. In addition to supporting his teammates, he was only beaten by Daryl Impey in the sprint for 4th behind the winning trio of Peter Sagan, Vincenzo Nibali, and Rigoberto Uran.

"The team has had an excellent week in Oman," he said. "I rode with some of my teammates for the first time. The races that I already have contested this season took place under different circumstances. In the Grand Prix la Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessèges, the opening races in France, we raced with a very young team. And in Oman we strived for stage wins with Greipel. My impressions about the Lotto Belisol team after the first races are all good.

Gallopin has previously been at the Radioshack team which has very little focus on the sprints. Hence, it was a new experience for Gallopin to be part of Greipel's lead-out work in Oman.

"In Oman it was agreeable to race in the sunshine and on good roads," he said. "There was less stress than is often the case in European races. Everything went very well for us, with three stage wins of André Greipel. I'm satisfied about my week here in Oman, also because I could work for the team in the run-up to the sprints. That was a new experience. For me personally this race was important to build up my condition for Paris-Nice."

Gallopin's first major target of the year is Paris-Nice and for a classics contender like him, the course could hardly have been any better. There are no big summit finishers and no time trial at all, meaning that it is more for one-day specialists than stage race riders. It is no wonder that the organizers have described the race as one of eight consecutive classics.

Gallopin is both a solid climber in the medium mountains and has a fast sprint. Those are exactly the characterics that will be favoured by the parcours, leaving Gallopin with big hopes for the race.

"I'm pleased with the course of Paris-Nice this year," he said. "There's no time trial or summit finish. We'll see what happens. First I aim for a victory and then a good GC might follow. That would even be better. I will take a good look at all stages, but I've already noticed that the ones in the final weekend - with on Sunday finish in Nice - should suit me. Paris-Nice is a race in the beginning of the season, then it's always waiting to see how the form is. But I have a strong team, which supports me for the GC as well. We'll see during the week how it all evolves."

The Paris Nice starts on March 9 and ends 8 days later in Nice.