Despite not being given a leadership role, Taylor Phinney has been handed a free role by his BMC team in tomorrows Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Thor Hushovd and Greg van Avermaet are also in the squad but Phinney will be allowed to attack if the opportunity presents itself.

“I am a bit of a wildcard in the race tomorrow, so I’ll be doing wild things,” Phinney joked in Kortrijk on Friday afternoon. “Obviously I can’t tell you my secret plans for tomorrow’s attacking, but we’ll see."

“This will be my third time coming to this race and I feel like I understand it better every time I come here. It’s a race where you need experience and to know the roads. I’m here for these guys [Van Avermaet and Hushovd] but if there’s a chance for me to do something strange or out of the blue, I’ll do that.”

Phinney is already in good form after winning the Dubai Tour and its TT so he will be one of the men to watch in tomorrows race.

However, he was reluctant to answer a question that many cycling fans have wanted to know for some time: will 2014 be the year he wins a Monument?

“That’s kind of a heavy, big question. I’m not going to say that I’m going to go into those races demanding leadership,” Phinney said. “I think that every year I progress and physically become stronger. A lot of that is mental, too, and just understanding the way races unfold and being patient. That’s something that I’m continuing to learn year after year.”

Sanremo

Despite his class on the Cobbles, his best result came in last years Milan-Sanremo where he finished 7th in an edition that was hit hard by awful conditions, with the Turchino Pass and La Manie being removed due to snow.

RCS confirmed yesterday morning that the Pompeiana climb would be removed from the race due to the road not being safe for the peloton to travel through and Phinney is pleased with this change:

“I am pleased about that. Ever since they put Le Manie in and now they’ve put the Pompeiana in, I wondered what it would be like to do the old, classic Milan-San Remo route,” he said.

“Even if it’s not what RCS wants, I think it’s kind of special for the riders, at least for me, that we’re able to do that old version and really feel the history of that race and what it used to be. I know Greg [Van Avermaet] probably isn’t that happy about it but I’m stoked.”

Phinney looks a real danger man and strong outside bet for Sanremo. As for Flanders and Roubaix, our first inclination of how good he is v Stybar, Boonen, Paolini, Terpstra and co will be apparent by the end of the Omloop tomorrow.