After 2nd places in his two first classics of the season, Peter Sagan (Cannondale) lines up in Gent-Wevelgem to finally get that elusive win. The Slovakian will share the leadership role with Elia Viviani in a two-pronged Cannondale attack.

Peter Sagan has made a first classics victory his first major objective for the season. He was extremely close in both Milan-Sanremo and E3 Prijs Vlaanderen where he ended up 2nd, and he admitted after his last performance that it may be destined to keep a certain patience before he will finally be able to tick off the classics box on his palmares.

His next chance comes in today's Gent-Wevelgem. The Slovakian champion came close last year where he was narrowly beaten by Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in a sprint from a 20-man group, and he will be out to make amends for that defeat today. He has pointed to Gent-Wevelgem as one of his four major classics objectives - the others being Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race.

Plenty of confidence

The double Tirreno stage winner has plenty of confidence, but points to the bad weather - which has forced organizers to shorten the route - as an unknown in today's challenge.

“I’m confident that I’ll have another good performance," he said. "The route changes and the weather conditions will make the race even more uncertain. It will be a hard challenge and we have to suffer, but this is Belgium."

Viviani ambitious

For once, he will not be the sole leader of his Cannondale team. Young sprinter Elia Viviani hopes to be a contender in the biggest classics in the future, but this year he will mostly put his services behind Sagan while soaking up plenty of learning experiences. However, he pointed out long ago that Gent-Wevelgem was the one classic where he would like to go for a personal result this season.

The Italian is certainly on form. He was a key ingredient in the crucial moment of the E3 where the Cannondale team brought back Sagan after he had missed the original selection on the Taaienberg. Viviani did huge turns on the front and was the man to close the final gap to the front group when all other Cannondale riders had dropped off.

His performance has added to the Italian's confidence.

“Gent-Wevelgem is the classic most suited to me,” Viviani explained. “I highlighted it on the schedule and I’m ready for it. Yesterday (Friday, ed.) in the crucial point of the race, I had signs that I can stand out and be competitive. I feel good and I want to be at the front.”

Sagan to work for Viviani in a sprint?

The team keeps its card close to the chest and do not reveal how the leadership role will be shared. However, it would not be totally unexpected if Sagan puts his services behind Viviani in an attempt to pay back some of his earlier efforts ahead of Sagan's bigger objective in the Tour of Flanders. Hence, Viviani could be the team's preferred sprinter, should he make the final selection in Wevelgem.

Sports director Stefano Zanatta sees clear benefits in the two-pronged attack.

“Having two options in a race like this is an important advantage,” he said. “There are many variables to think about, like the weather and the type of races here in Belgium. Sagan and Viviani - as well as the rest of the team - have to be tough to stay at the front and not be surprised.”

Sagan and Viviani will be joined by a team of highly competitive domestiques. Fabio Sabatini, Alan Marangoni, Mauro Da Dalto, Edward King, Maciej Bodnar and Kristijan Koren will all line up later today. Sabatini, Koren and Bodnar are all strong at the moment and were the riders to join Viviani in the impressive chase effort in Friday's E3. Koren even managed to end up in the second chase group led by Tom Boonen.

Starting at 14.15, you can follow all the action of today's semiclassic on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

Cannondale for Gent-Wevelgem

Peter Sagan, Elia Viviani, Fabio Sabatini, Alan Marangoni, Mauro Da Dalto, Edward King, Maciej Bodnar and Kristijan Koren