Without Welshman Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard will take the leadership at Team Sky for Sunday's Paris-Roubaix. He told CyclingWeekly that he prefers a wet and messy race. According to the weather forecast, this weekend will be rainy.

He reconnoitred many cobbled sectors with his teammate Luke Rowe. "I didn't find the recon too bad, the mud in between the cobbles was bad, but the top of the cobbles was fine," Stannard told. "If it rains, it's going to be a mess. I like those conditions, and the colder the better, as well. A dry Roubaix is probably nicer to race, but a wet one is better for my riding characteristics."

"The confidence is building in the team, individually as well. We are still going in a great direction", he added.  "It's down to me and Luke, and we are both looking forward to it. We have two more defined leaders, rather than four or five of us all trying to get into the final and then race. E3 really showed that, we kind of missed it on the Taaienberg and Luke and [Salvatore] Puccio got straight on the front and did what they needed to do, there was no hanging around. There was a clear decision, and that comes from knowing who your leaders are."

Team Sky have been really competitive in spring classics this season. Michal Kwiatkowski, who joined the British team this winter, won E3 Harlbeke. Sprinter Ben Swift crossed Milan-San Remo's finish line in 2nd position, behind French Arnaud Démare (FDJ). 

"In the past, we had a strong group who all think that maybe they have a chance, so you lack that real clarity of whoís going to give what for whom. Now, itís a lot clearer in the roles and whoís doing what", general manager Dave Brailsford explained.