Both Peter Sagan and Oscar Gatto arrive at E3 in good form and Gatto says his world champion captain is not far away from his best shape one week before Ronde Van Vlaanderen.

“Peter is living this whole period very calmly, he’s very serene about it all,” Gatto told Cyclingnews in Roeselare on Wednesday. “I’ve been sharing a room with him recently and he deals with all the pressures in a fantastic way. Obviously, inside, he’s bound to be a bit annoyed, so to speak, because he hasn’t had a win yet this year, but I think all he’s been lacking is that little bit of luck.”

Gatto says he is relishing the role he has been given as Sagan’s right hand man, having a chance to lead in the samller races too.

“This role suits me very well because I like to ride for a big leader like Peter, but then every now and then, I have the opportunity to race for myself too,” Gatto said. “At Dwars, I could ride for myself, but on Friday it’ll be all for Peter. I think we’ve got a good team for the Classics this year, although Bennati will be a loss,” Gatto said. “He fractured two vertebrae in his crash at Milan-San Remo. It’s a shame, because he would have been a very important point of reference for the team.”