According to Sky Director Sportif Servais Knaven, today’s Strade Bianche is too hard for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Ian Stannard.

“Strade Bianche is probably too hard for him, we also don’t want to always put the pressure on him,” Sky sports director Servais Knaven explained to Cycling Weekly.

“He had pressure in Nieuwsblad and in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, so he will have free role in Italy. To say he can go for the win, is asking too much.”

After successfully defending his Omloop win from 2014, and considering the way the rest of his 2014 went, Knaven says it is impossible to underestimate just how much the win in Omloop meant to the Brit.

“It meant a lot, even if he doesn’t show it. He was over the moon. Especially with the way he did it, no one expected him to win. His morale is really good at the moment. This is what he needed after all the problems last year,” Knaven said.

Knaven says this all bodes well coming into the Classics, and in particular for Stannards big objectives Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, with the latter held on a similar course to the Omloop.

“I don’t know how his numbers compared to last year, but look at the way he’s racing. In Qatar, especially the time trial in fifth and fourth overall again like last year in GC… He’s on a similar level, but his morale is better. His confidence is high and that’s what we need. You need to have confidence when you go to the classics.”