While the likes of Moscon, Kwiatkowski, Intxausti and Golas have settled into Team Sky, one rider has not even been able tor ace for the team yet. 22 year old Danny Van Poppel has been ruled out of racing so far due to knee problems, but he hopes his debut will be soon: "If I can ride pain free, I'm going to race," he told Algemeen Dagblad.

In late January, Van Poppel told WielerFlits all that he had to leave the training camp in Mallorca. After the races on Mallorca and Dubai Tour, he was also absent for the Belgian opening weekend. "It’s difficult, but at the moment nothing is different. Mentally, I’ve had it rough. I was very disappointed and have had a couple of difficult days. When it finally rode well last year and I won, I thought, I'm going to be good in the spring. I've trained much harder and more seriously and really wanted to show it.” At least the sprinter has found out what is causing the problem” "It is almost certainly to do with my hamstring that has been blocked."

The youngest Van Poppel gets a lot of support from his directeur sportif Servais Knaven and coach Rod Ellingworth. "My problem is that I often want to do too much. From the team they just say to me: "Take it easy, Danny. Your time will come. "That is fine but I hope to ride this spring. If I can ride pain free, I'm going to race, even if the condition is not yet there. But last week I just decided that I do not race the first few Classics. I've resigned myself to that.”