Ian Stannard may forgo the chance to win a third Het Nieuwsblad title in a row in order to be fresher when the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix roll around. Those are his favourite races and his best results in both came in 2011, with 50th and 36th respectively.

“This year I went a bit too well, too early,” he told Cycling Weekly. “Roubaix and Flanders are my favourite races."

The 28 year old Brit is currently riding in Richmomd ahead of the Worlds Road Race on Sunday, but he already has an eye on the changes he may need to make for 2016. 

“I will have to adapt my training slightly to [concentrate more on] them: do the more intense stuff a little bit later than I did this year. I have to change the race programme for that.”