Tom Pidcock has been cleared to race after recovering from a mild concussion but the Yorkshireman has not been named in Ineos Grenadiers line-up for Friday’s E3 Saxo Classic, with Filippo Ganna set for a leading role on his season debut in Belgium.
The team’s race plans have been described as “dynamic” due to a number of injuries and the growing tendency for riders to peak for specific spring races rather than ride a full Classics campaign.
Pidcock won Strade Bianche with a 50km solo attack but then crashed during the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico and was prescribed a period of rest in line with established concussion protocols at Ineos Grenadiers.
He was never scheduled to ride the E3 Sax Classic but could return to Belgium for Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem and then ride Dwars door Vlaanderen next Wednesday and the Tour of Flanders on Sunday 2nd April.
In his absence, Filippo Ganna will lead the Ineos team on Friday, with Michał Kwiatkowski, Connor Swift, Kim Heiduk, Jhonatan Narváez, Ben Turner and neo-pro Josh Tarling.
Ganna impressed with his second place at Milan-San Remo and will get his first taste of the Flemish roads and cobbled climbs as he prepares for Paris-Roubaix.
Ganna and the other Ineos riders for the E3 Saxo Classic carried out a final route reconnaissance ride in the rain and wind on Wednesday, with a Paris-Roubaix reconnaissance and final material testing planned for this week. He revealed to La Gazzetta dello Sport that he is suffering with some sciatic nerve pain after riding Tirreno-Adriatico but is confident that extra massage will ease the problem.
Turner returns to Belgium after fracturing his elbow at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He was in fine form until his crash, winning the Vuelta Murcia and taking second behind Tadej Pogačar at the Jaén Paraiso Interior gravel race.
The USA’s Magnus Sheffield is also absent from the E3 Saxo Classics. The 20-year-old ride Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo and is taking extra time to recover before beginning his spring Classics campaign at Gent-Wevelgem.
Veteran road captain Luke Rowe rode Milan-San Remo and has stayed in Italy for the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali stage race. He is expected to ride Dwars door Vlaanderen and be considered for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
In a similar way, Ganna will ride a different race programme to ensure he is fresh for Paris-Roubaix. The Italian is expected to ride the E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem and then Dwars door Vlaanderen but will skip the Tour of Flanders to prepare for the French cobbles. Any change to the plan will only be made after Gent-Wevelgem.
