Bradley Wiggins has made no secret of the fact that he wants to win Paris-Roubaix and he means serious business. This week he already did a recon ride on the famous cobbles in Northern France.

The peloton is still in off-season mode but last Tuesday, Bradley Wiggins did a recon ride on the cobbles in Northern France. The 2012 Tour de France champion has set his sights on Paris-Roubaix. Former winner and Sky Sports director Servais Knaven planned a special training for the Brit. "On December 2, he rode 110km over the cobbles. Actually it was just a normal working day.<"

"I am in the most beautiful forest in the world," Servais Knaven told AD.nl over the phone. The 2001 Paris-Roubaix winner was in the famous Arenberg forest whose 2400m of cobbles have often been crucial in determining the outcome of the Hell of the North. Knaven was behind Sky riders Bradley Wiggins, Ian Stannard and Bernhard Eisel who already tested the course.

"We did the finale, approximately the last 110 kilometers. Including a lap on the velodrome and a bath in the old showers in Roubaix."

The Dutch Sky sports director shares the record of most Paris-Roubaix participations with Raymond Impanis after he did the race 16 times. That makes him the perfect teacher for Wiggins. "I am also the team leader who lives closest to the area," says the Dutchman who left the Belgian city of Hoogstraten at 6.00 in the morning.

At Sky, they hope that Knaven can give the British Tour de France champion the final push to win the cobbled classics. "I have the experience. We speak to each other occasionally. Bradley is very motivated and has watched several edition on YouTube. He has always regarded it as a great race but in the last four-five years it has not been part of his schedule and so he does not have much experience. It is important that he knows all the cobbles. Every turn. When I talk about a sector, he needs to know exactly what I mean."