Wales’ Geraint Thomas on Friday claimed victory in the E3 Harelbeke to boost Team Sky’s morale ahead of their major spring goals.
The Commonwealth Games champion raced away from his fellow breakaway riders Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) with four kilometres to go in the 215km Belgian cobbled race to win.
Thomas and Team Sky colleagues Ian Stannard and Sir Bradley Wiggins are targeting a strong showing in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix next month.
Stybar was second, but Sagan faded in the finale and Matteo Trentin (Etixx-Quickstep) won the sprint for third.
Thomas, who became the first Briton to win the event having finished third last year, told the Team Sky website: “I can’t quite believe it. That last attack took me back to my track days and I imagined I was trying to hold Ed Clancy’s wheel in the team pursuit. I felt pretty good during the second half of the race and committed at the end.
“It was hard out there. The three of us worked well together and I wasn’t sure if they were bluffing a bit near the end – panting and pulling faces – but fortunately they weren’t, and it was great for me.
“This six-week period we’re in from Paris-Nice to Paris-Roubaix is my big focus of the season. The way Paris-Nice finished was disappointing, but I felt good again at Milan-San Remo and to get the win now is really special.”
Meanwhile Team Sky’s Richie Porte assumed the race lead at the Volta a Catalunya after Alejandro Valverde won Friday’s fifth stage.
The Australian Porte holds a five-second advantage after Spain’s Valverde (Movistar) attacked the group of favourites to claim his second stage success of this year’s race.
Porte moved ahead of Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale), while Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) sits third overall in the race which concludes on Sunday.