Over the last year and a bit, Luke Rowe has gone from domestique to bonna fide Classics leader, which has rewarded him with joint leadership of the Sky team at the 2016 Paris-Roubaix.

He looks good in De Panne ahead of Flanders, where he will play a back up role with Ian Stannard, Michal Kwiatkowski and Geraint Thomas all other options. 

“I definitely noticed I’ve gone up a level,” Rowe told Cycling Weekly. “I feel more confident, and in the peloton, where I used to be just hanging on over the climbs, I’m in the thick end of things. Moving on to Roubaix, I hope to go in as a joint leader with Ian Stannard.”

Rowe was eighth in Roubaix last year and fourth in Omloop this year.