After his monumental victory at Milan-Sanremo on Sunday, John Degenkolb will head into Friday's E3 Harelbeke as one of the race favourites, and it's he who will lead the team at this one day WorldTour classic.

The parcours covers 211km and no less than 17 climbs to tackle, including the well known ascents of the Taaienberg, Paterberg, and the Oude Kwaremont. With Zico Waeytens in the line-up for E3 the team also has some extra local knowledge that goes a long way in these arduous races.

Waeytens will be joined by the experience of road captains Roy Curvers and Bert De Backer at the race, with more support for Degenkolb coming from Nikias Arndt, who returns from illness that hit him ahead of Milan-Sanremo, Koen de Kort, Ramon Sinkeldam and Albert Timmer.

"In this race John is our leader and like last year we aim to have riders with him in the final 40km of the race to help ahead of the finale," explained team coach Aike Visbeek. "E3 is one of the hardest Flemmish races considering the course, with a lot of climbs and small roads making it a really hard race."

"With the confidence boost from Milan-Sanremo our focus is on teamwork to support John because that in the end will make the difference. Having Zico there, who lives near Harelbeke, together with Roy and Bert we should have a lot of knowledge of the roads which will be very useful."

Giant-Alpecin for E3 Harelbeke: Nikias Arndt, Roy Curvers, Bert De Backer, John Degenkolb, Koen de Kort, Ramon Sinkeldam, Albert Timmer and Zico Waeytens.

Two days later Team Giant-Alpecin returns to Gent-Wevelgem this spring with defending champion John Degenkolb leading the way. Degenkolb won the 2014 race with a commanding finishing sprint to take his first classics win, and he and the team will be keen to push for the double in 2015.

The 240km WorldTour classic includes ascents of the Casselberg, the Catsberg, the Baneberg and the Kemmelberg amongst others. Degenkolb will come to the race full of confidence after Milan-Sanremo, as will the riders looking to support him again here, including Roy Curvers, Bert De Backer, Koen de Kort, Albert Timmer and Zico Waeytens all of whom raced La Primavera on Sunday. Marcel Kittel, previously announced as a rider for the race, will not start on Sunday, as he is still working back to full fitness and towards his next goals.

"After last year with John we know what it takes to win here, and he will be our leader for Sunday," explained team coach Aike Visbeek. "Last year Koen and Ramon played a crucial role in the final of the race and I expect for them to be there again to support John.

"The wind can be a factor in the early part of the race so we will have to be vigilant in the early stages. What's also important for us here though is that we have other fast finishers in this race, so that we have other cards to play alongside John." 

Giant-Alpecin for Gent-Wevelgem: Nikias Arndt, Roy Curvers, Bert De Backer, John Degenkolb, Koen de Kort, Ramon Sinkeldam, Albert Timmer and Zico Waeytens.