BMC DS Fabio Baldato says that he hopes Taylor Phinney can ride well at the Classics, saying he is under no pressure with Greg Van Avermaet the team’s sole leader.

“First, we will have to see what happens at Gent-Wevelgem. Our leader will be Greg, but we can play during the race,” said directeur sportif Fabio Baldato. “He could have a free role, and his position could be important for the team. He was already working for the others two years ago at Flanders when he was in the early break he was the man that made the day for us. We will see. Taylor is an important man for the Classics coming up.”

Baldato says Tirreno-Adriatico was a great step forward in the right direction for the 25 year old American, who is in good shape.

“Tirreno was a great step,” said Baldato. “He’s already great Taylor. What we know, is that he needs more time between races to go back and do physiotherapy to be great. That is why we don’t want to use him too much. He’s good, and I’m sure on Sunday at Gent-Wevelgem, we will have a lot of riders that we can use better if they are fresher, and they can make the race.”

Phinney is highly motivated and was a key factor in Van Avermaet’s GC win in Italy.

“I need to talk to him, but I know that he is very motivated,” Baldato explained. “During Tirreno, he was with Greg, and he was one of the guys who really kept up motivation, morale. He is always joking. He’s good for the ambiance of the team.”