Luke Rowe has said that he used to try and make "life hell" for convicted dopers in the peloton.

The former Ineos Grenadiers rider, now a sports director for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, said that riders who had served bans did not deserve to return to professional cycling.

Speaking on the Watts Occurring podcast, which he co-hosts alongside friend and former teammate Geraint Thomas, the Welshman discussed his feelings on the topic after being asked who was generally disliked in the peloton by a listener.

"You know who I did flick? People who had been [tested] positive and came back to the sport. I would just ride through them and go out of my way to do it," Rowe explained.

"If it's black and white and you've been done for something and they're next to me, I'm just going to ride through them. I don't understand why every rider didn't do this because then it would make their life hell.

"Because they don't deserve to come back in my mind."

By flick, Rowe essentially means being unhelpful to a rider in the peloton, deliberately so – not giving way in the peloton or blocking space, for example.

The 35-year-old would have ridden alongside various riders banned for doping, including Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador. He also rode for Team Sky for one year, 2013, with Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, who was banned over discrepancies in his biological passport in 2013.

"If they shout something, normally they don't 'cos they know they haven't got a leg to stand on," Rowe continued, "that's probably the only category of rider I was like, I don't give a fuck about them. You've cheated me. You've cheated the sport. Fuck you.

"Imagine [if] every rider had the same mentality. Imagine you got caught for drugs, you're cheating, [a] scumbag, [you] come back to the sport, you're on the start line with 160 riders and all of them treat you like shit which is all you deserve. You wouldn't want to be in that peloton for long.

"You could just bully them out the sport. Back to where they belong."

Earlier this month, Thomas said that Ineos Grenadiers didn't deal in a "great" way with the revelation that their head soigneur David Rozman had links to a known doping doctor.

The recently-retired Tour de France winner told The Guardian that he "wasn't surprised" that Rozman had links to Mark Schmidt, who was convicted after Operation Aderlass.

During this summer's Tour de France, Ineos Grenadiers confirmed that Rozman was to be interviewed again by the International Testing Agency (ITA) into allegations that he had close links to Schmidt.

Luke Rowe has said that he never thought he would leave Ineos Grenadiers, as he opened up for the first time about his looming move to Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.

The Welshman spent his entire pro career at Team Sky, which became Ineos Grenadiers, after he joined in 2012, but will move to French squad Decathlon as a sports director as he hangs up his wheels.

Speaking to GCN for a video titled "Is This The End of Team Ineos?", the 34-year-old revealed it was wanting to be free of bureaucracy beyond anything else which caused him to look elsewhere for the future.

"I never thought I'd really leave the team," he explained in his GCN interview, published on Saturday. "I thought that's where I would spend most of my post-cycling career, that that was the natural thing to do, and then when that crash did happen in March it was clear that was the end of my career. You take a step back and you go 'What am I going to do?'

"The first team I spoke to was Ineos and they kind of laid it out. 'Right OK, thank you very much' and then I started speaking to other teams. I just feel like change is good sometimes."

Last month, Rowe said Ineos was "underperforming", and may need a number of years to regain its previous dominance in a candid interview, saying that the team had found itself "on the back foot".

"One of my big concerns with staying at Ineos was that I want to make a change," he continued in his latest interview. "If it's here now then I want it to become better. Whatever department I was in, you want to improve. Honestly, the biggest reason I was scared was if I wanted to make a change then it has to go through too many people and the change doesn't end up happening.

"I just didn't want my time wasted and that was my biggest fear. It wasn't financial, it wasn't any negativity towards an individual or the team as a whole. I've got a lot of time for them. I was scared that I'd get lost in a big organisation. It's also more than a cycling team now, it's part of a global business and it's owned by Ineos, not sponsored by them."

Last week, Ineos announced a raft of changes to their performance staff, including new sports directors and a lead performance coach among other new roles.

"At Team Sky there was always Dave B [Brailsford] at the top," Rowe said. "You might have run things by a few people but the buck stopped with him. Now, there's more levels above and above.

"Certainly, the right people can make decisions where things could change overnight, if something big needs to be changed then it goes to the top dog and with a click of the fingers it's done. For me, I'd be a long way down the pecking order and it'd have to go up through the chain of command."

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale won 30 races this season, its most since 1999, while Ineos Grenadiers have won just 14 times, its lowest ever.

Luke Rowe is to leave Ineos Grenadiers after 13 years and join Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale as a sports director, it was announced on Monday morning.

The Welshman, who joined the British squad when it was Team Sky in 2012, was already set to retire from the professional ranks at the end of the season, but will not leave the world of cycling, switching to Decathlon next month.

The 34-year-old said that the team was the one for him because of its "future project" and "long-term vision".

In a press release, Rowe said: "I took a bit of time to reflect on my future and see what the new chapter would be. The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale project appealed to me, particularly with the big step forward made this year in terms of performance, but above all with the future project and the long-term vision. I will be eager to bring my experience from the years spent at the highest level and to support the riders, especially in the classics.

"The other part of this new project is the team’s ambition to become more international. Obviously, there are some incredible French talents but, with this approach, the team can also be a very attractive option for English speakers and international riders looking to join the team."

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale have won 30 races this season, its most since 1999, while Ineos Grenadiers have won just 14 times, its lowest ever.

Last month, Rowe said Ineos was "underperforming", and may need a number of years to regain its previous dominance in a candid interview, saying that the team had found itself "on the back foot.

In a post on social media, Ineos wrote: "Saying goodbye is hard so we'll just say this... Thank you Luke Rowe. Top rider. Top human being. Congratulations on an incredible career on the bike!"

At Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Rowe seems set to help lead the Classics squad, which includes Oliver Naesen and Stan Dewulf.

"The meeting with Luke Rowe happened naturally," Dominique Serieys, Decathlon's CEO said. "He is someone who will bring us his experience from his thirteen years spent with Ineos Grenadiers. He has significant experience in the classics, Paris-Roubaix, the Flemish and the Ardennes races, where he played leading roles throughout his career.

"This will allow the team to strengthen its preparation for these major events, which are key objectives for the coming seasons. Luke will be at the center of the classics group, with various training camps and specific preparations set up to achieve these goals. It is a major step forward in structuring the sports department and supporting young riders towards the highest level."

When Rowe's retirement was announced earlier this year, John Allert, the CEO of Ineos Grenadiers, said: "Luke is a massive part of what makes this team so special. He has been here since the early years and has played a huge part in our biggest wins and some of the most iconic moments in the team’s history."

Ineos Grenadiers road captain Luke Rowe has said his team is "underperforming", and may need a number of years to regain its previous dominance.  

In a candid interview, the 34-year-old said his team has found itself "on the back foot", chasing results while being surpassed by other teams. 

Ineos Grenadiers are on course for their least successful season this year, in terms of victories, since the team was created as Sky Procycling in 2010. The team has so far managed 14 wins in 2024, down from 38 in 2023 and 39 in 2022. 

"You can't really sugarcoat it. It's a high-budget team, with some very well-paid bike riders – some riders who are paid to win big bike races – and it's just not happening," Rowe told Eurosport's ‘The Breakaway’. 

"I think it's time to just look in the mirror and realise we are underperforming. We're not delivering to expectations, and I don't think it falls on one person's shoulders. For a long period of time, the team was the best team in the world, by a distance, and that's not being arrogant."

Between 2012 and 2019, the British team won seven out of eight Tours de France, thanks to Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal. Its best-placed rider at the race this year was Carlos Rodríguez, who finished seventh. The team's last Grand Tour victory came in 2021, when Bernal won the Giro d'Italia. 

"I think to be at the top is one thing, but to stay at the top is another," Rowe said. "You're either the hunted or you're doing the hunting. We were hunted by a lot of teams for a long time, and they were playing catch-up. Now it's role reversal, and we're on the back foot a bit. We're having to chase the top teams. I think not just one team has overtaken us, I think a few have." 

Speaking ahead of this year's Tour, Thomas said UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike were "bigger favourites" than Ineos Grenadiers.

"Let's be honest, there are other teams that have more of a weight to take of the race than us, and [have] bigger favourites," the 2018 Tour winner said. "I don’t think the pressure's on us. What I'm saying is we're not going to ride like Sky, we're not going to be in one train on the front."

Ahead of the 2025 season, Ineos Grenadiers have made reinforcements to their squad, bringing in reliable domestique Bob Jungels from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, promising Brit Sam Watson from Groupama-FDJ, and the current under-23 world champion Axel Laurance from Alpecin-Deceuninck.

There has been speculation around Tom Pidcock, the Olympic mountain bike champion and winner of this year's Amstel Gold Race, who was the subject of reports last month suggesting he might leave the team. The 25-year-old has three years left on his current contract with Ineos Grenadiers, but has been rumoured with a move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

Rowe, who is set to retire at the end of 2024, is optimistic the team can return to the top step as world cycling's prevailing force.

"I know the management, I know the owners well, and they're not the type of people who will roll over and get their tummies tickled," the Welshman said. "They're there for a fight, they want to come back, they're going to do the right things, put the right people in the right places.

"In one or two years, can they turn it around? No, I think it needs to be more long-term. Certainly in five years I see them being one of the top, dominant teams in the world of professional cycling."

Luke Rowe is to retire at the end of the season, Ineos Grenadiers announced on Friday. The 34-year-old is in his 13th season with the British squad, and had a contract for next year, but said now was the right time to "bow out".

The Welshman, who has spent the second half of his career as a road captain for Sky, then Ineos, has had a "testing" last 18 months, with the latest challenge being an injury suffered in a crash at the E3 Saxo Classic earlier this year. He said that his "dream" way to finish his career would be to ride the Tour of Britain one final time, in September.

"I’ve had an amazing career and I have absolutely no regrets," Rowe said in a press release. "But the last eighteen months have been testing in different ways and with this latest crash and resulting injury, it just feels like now is the right time to bow out, head home to Wales and spend a bit more time with my family.
 
"I’ve got so many amazing memories and I have loved every part of being a professional cyclist. There are so many people who have played a key role in my career - too many to thank individually. Obviously huge thanks to my family and friends, but I’d also like to thank everyone in the Ineos Grenadiers, many of whom are also like family. 

"I’ve been incredibly lucky to spend all thirteen years as a pro bike rider with one team and it’s been a team who has supported me 100% through the good times and the bad. Their commitment and support to their athletes is world class and it’s part of the reason I have never wanted to race for anyone else."

"For now, I am focussing on recovering from this latest injury and working with the team and doctors to try and get back on the bike," he continued. "I have the rest of the season left and would like to race again in 2024 - with the Tour of Britain being my dream race to end on. The fans around the world have always been amazing but it would be pretty special to end my career racing around the UK in front of home fans."

Rowe turned professional with Sky in 2012, and won a stage of the Tour of Britain that year. The standout result of his career was possibly fifth at the Tour of Flanders in 2016, along with multiple top 10s in other Classics, but he also emerged as a solid support rider at the Tour de France. He was present at five of Sky/Ineos' overall victories at the Tour through Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal.

John Allert, the CEO of Ineos Grenadiers, said: "Luke is a massive part of what makes this team so special. He has been here since the early years and has played a huge part in our biggest wins and some of the most iconic moments in the team’s history."

Separately, his long-term teammate, podcast co-host and friend Thomas has said that it is "95%" certain that he will retire at the end of 2025, when his current contract expires.

While it was likely that this would be the 37-year-old's final deal, a date for his retirement is yet to be set. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, Thomas said: "I’ve definitely still got a contract another year, a contract for next year. Then that will likely be my final year, I would think. Nothing is nailed down yet, but 95% I’ll be finishing at the end of next year."

The former Tour winner is set to ride the Giro d'Italia, which begins in Turin on Saturday. 

Earlier this week, he said he was "confident" for the race, despite the presence of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

“I’m excited about getting into it and racing," he said. "We’ve got a strong team, there’s a few new guys and we’re itching to go. 

"I feel like I’ve done everything I can to be in a good place so I’ll just get out there and race the race now."

Luke Rowe has revealed he felt a "gutting" sense of disappointment at not being selected for Ineos Grenadiers’ Vuelta a España squad.

The British team will travel to Spain this weekend with Geraint Thomas as its general classification hopeful. He will be joined by Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman, Jonathan Catroviejo, Laurens de Plus, Omar Fraile, Filippo Ganna and Grand Tour-debutant Kim Heiduk. 

As a result of his non-selection, Rowe will miss out on riding a Grand Tour this year for the first time since 2012. 

Speaking on Watts Occurring, the podcast he hosts with team-mate and 2018 Tour de France winner Thomas, Rowe explained that he was expecting to be part of the Vuelta squad. 

“I’ve gone all in for this Vuelta, and I didn’t make the cut,” said the 33-year-old, who shaved his head specially for the race. “If I’m honest, I’m pretty f*cking gutted, actually. For the last four months, it has been all towards this. I’ve raced, done some nice races, I’ve trained really well, and all the signs were pointing in the right direction.

“Maybe it’s a bit my naivety, really, that I thought I was more in the door than I really was.” 

Rowe went on to describe the moments after he was told by Ineos Grenadiers that he would not join the team in Spain. “When they called me, your first reaction is, ‘Oh for f*ck’s sake’, and a bit of anger,” he said. 

“I just said to [my wife] Cath, ‘I’m going to go to the fridge and open a bottle of wine and I’m going to drink it,’ well, with her, I wasn’t going to drink the whole thing. Then I’m going to go out on the town, and I’m going to send it. I got home in the early hours of the morning, had a hangover day, and the next afternoon, I was like, ‘Right that’s it now. That’s done. Get on with it now.’”

Rowe will now undertake a new end-of-season race programme, which he has chosen not to specify. 

“A career is full of highs and lows,” he said. “You can be going really well, looking forward to great things, and then the next moment told you can’t do those great things and you can’t go on that mission.

“Deep down, it’s pretty gutting, and it does hurt not to make the cut. But, you know, they’ve got eight great blokes there.” 

The 2023 Vuelta a España begins this Saturday 26 August in Barcelona. 

British national road champion Fred Wright has played down his and Team GB’s chances against the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in the elite men’s road race at the Glasgow World Championships on Sunday.

Wright and Ben Turner have been highlighted as the team’s two protected riders in the road race, but Tom Pidcock’s absence from the British team leaves them without a serious contender against some of the outright favourites to take the rainbow jersey.

Speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon in Scotland, both Wright and Rowe suggested that the British squad will look to “get ahead” of the likes of the Dutch and Belgian teams in order to enable them to seize any potential opportunity when the Glasgow city centre circuit arrives.

“Me, Conor [Swift] and Ben Turner are going to be the guys that we’re looking to potentially get in the pre-final move,” Wright said. “I think in our team we haven’t necessarily got one of the superstars like your Van Aert’s or your Van der Poel’s but we’ve definitely got guys that can do something if we get ahead of those other guys so that when they come to us it’s a bit more of a level playing field.”

Belgium and the Netherlands arrive in Scotland as two of the strongest teams for the road race. As well as Van Aert, the Belgian squad contains last year’s winner Remco Evenepoel as well as the Tour de France green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen.

Wright suggested that the belief isn’t lacking in the GB camp despite their underdog status and that they will look to force the Belgian’s to chase a lot of early moves in an attempt to weaken them as the finale approaches.

As well as Wright, the British squad contains Luke Rowe, Ben and Conor Swift, Jake Stewart, Sam Watson, Ben Turner and Owain Doull.

Rowe told the media that Pidcock’s presence could have potentially made them stronger, but he said he has every faith in his teammates to be at the sharp end of the action on Sunday.

“I think it’s no secret that we’re going into the race as slight underdogs,” Rowe explained. “I think we’re missing a few riders which would put us more up there as a favourite. We could have had Tom [Pidcock] or Ethan [Hayter] here but I’d argue that it wouldn’t add a great deal and I’m confident in the boys we’ve got here.

“I think it’s obvious that there’s four or five guys out there who are on a bit of another level compared to the rest of the peloton really. If you wait and try to race them man on man in the final, I think you’re just waiting with a loaded gun to your head aren’t you really and you’re going to come off second best.

“I think the only way to counteract that is to get ahead of the race but at the same time, there’s probably 100 other blokes thinking the same. What will be said on most buses is try and get ahead of them and let them come across to you.”

"The way he races shows he just wants to light things up"

As well as some of the Classics superstars of the peloton, two of the best Grand Tour riders currently operating will be on the start line in Edinburgh. Evenepoel will provide a different type of opposition to contend with as will Slovenia’s two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogačar.

Wright explained that as far as he’s concerned, Pogačar’s presence on the startline won’t affect his or team GB’s approach to the race.

“I think just seeing the way he was riding on the Champs-Élysées the way he races shows he just wants to light things up,” Wright said. “He’s definitely going to be a big player on Sunday but we almost need to let him come to us.

"We haven’t really got someone that can follow him when he makes his move but there’s still a lot of other guys and you can’t just focus on Pogačar… there’s a lot of strong guys out there so you can’t get too fixated by him I guess.”

Rain expected

After the riders have faced a long ride from Edinburgh, they will arrive at a fast and technical city centre circuit in Glasgow. Rain is expected on Sunday which could see the race turn into a wet and slippery affair.

Wright explained that whilst the British riders will be ready for it, everyone will still need to be on their guard once they enter Glasgow.

“It’s going to be hard on the circuit that’s for sure if it’s wet,” he explained. “There will potentially be more crashes but I think us British riders we’re a bit more used to that kind of weather. If the weather’s crap you’ve just to stay positive with it.”

“Someone told me there’s 450 corners,” Rowe added. “It’s natural that the way the peloton moves after every corner it gets lined out. With rain that just enhances all that. The peloton is like a piece of plastic, it’s always stretching then coming back together and the rain will just enhance that effect in the peloton and make the race a whole lot harder.  

“It’s about accepting that and dealing with that. It sounds cliché but it's the same for everyone. We’ve got a job to do so we’ve got to just get on with it.”

“It’s not an indoor sport is it, we don’t do it in a stadium so you’re going to get wet and have just got crack on and get it done.”

Luke Rowe has responded to critics blaming him for crashing Mads Pedersen during Paris-Roubaix by calling them "nuts" and telling them to "go f**k yourself".

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was involved in a crash with the former world champion in the Arenberg forest after suffering a front wheel puncture, losing control of his bike.

Race footage shows Rowe ahead of a small group on the cobbled section on the right-hand side of the road, swinging back over to the middle as he loses speed, one rider swerving out of the way before Pedersen went into the back of him.

"I've been bombarded with messages about causing a crash on Mads Pedersen in the forest in Arenberg, you're nuts, you are nuts," Rowe said in a video posted to Instagram.

>>> Mathieu van der Poel says he 'was the most broken of all' in Paris-Roubaix sprint

"If you're one of them who sent me a message you are nuts. I had a front wheel puncture, I had no control on the bike. If you're one of those who sent me a message try riding a f**king bike through the forest of Arenberg with a front wheel puncture. I was trying to stay to the right, the front wheel started to go, I swung to the left, Mads hit me at 40km/h."

Clearly irritated by those getting in contact to share their thoughts, Rowe had a message for them.

"If you're one of those who sent me a message I'm going to try and say it as politely as I can, go f**k yourself."

Rowe had been involved in the early break during Roubaix, forging his way up the road before his puncture.

He eventually finished in 67th place, 20 minutes down, leading a group across the line containing team-mate Michał Kwiatkowski, Kasper Asgreen, Tim Declerq, Max Schachmann and Dylan Groenewegen.

Luke Rowe has explained why he was handed a fine by Tour de France commissaries on stage three of the race.

In the jury report released after the race, commissaries had given the Welshman a 300CHF (£235) fine and docked him 20 UCI points for 'assault, intimidation, insults, threats, improper conduct'.

>>> 'We cannot continue like this': Riders and team bosses give their verdict on crash-fuelled start to Tour de France 2021

To avoid confusion about the fine, Rowe took to Twitter to explain why he had been handed the fine, which he picked up as he tried to help his Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Geraint Thomas back to the peloton following a crash.

"I need to clarify what happened here as a lot of people making the wrong assumption," Rowe wrote. 

"We were 3 mins behind chasing with G after the crash. Normally under the circumstances you get some help from team cars. The jury allowed us nothing. When we finally returned to the peleton [sic] I spoke to the jury and said this was not correct under the extreme circumstances of a nasty crash and a mangled shoulder. I shouted at the jury and said some words I shouldn’t of [sic]. There ya have it, peace out."

Rowe had stopped to attend to his stricken team leader Geraint Thomas, who had crashed early on in the stage and dislocated his shoulder. The 2018 Tour winner was able to remount his bike after being attended to by medical staff, and was able to finish the chaotic stage just 26 seconds down on the day's winner Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix). 

Thomas now sits 1-07 down in the general classification however, with Richard Carapaz the best place rider from Ineos Grenadiers at 31 seconds from overall leader Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix).

Stage three was marred by crashes. Jumbo-Visma's key domestique was forced out of the race after crashing with Geraint Thomas, while Australians Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) both broke collarbones in separate crashes.

Among the GC contenders Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) came off worst after crashing in the final 10km. He was forced to chase on with team-mates and eventually finished 1-21 down on the stage, dropping from fourth to 20th overall at 1-35.

Both Thomas and Roglič should be able to continue on stage four of the Tour, a flat stage of 150.4km from Redon to Fougères.

It would probably be easier to list the riders who didn't hit the deck on stage one of the 2020 Tour de France.

Not only faced with having to race through a global pandemic, the rain arrived just in time for the Grand Départ in Nice to turn the road into a "skating rink" that brought down most of the peloton at one point or another.

Inside the final 50km the bunch eventually decided to temporarily neutralise the race, not wanting anyone's Tour to end prematurely after the effort it's taken to make the start happen.

But this pause in the action was ignored by Astana, who quickly paid the price for their actions after Miguel Ángel López careered off the road into a road sign after the Kazakhstani team upped the pace on a descent.

"I think the problem was the fact that it literally hadn’t rained here for two or three months," Rowe said after the finish. "And then you have one day where it rains and the roads were literally like ice. I think most teams had at least half the team touch down today. Luckily we got passed it. We had a couple of touchdowns but we passed it."

>>> Alexander Kristoff fights to huge sprint victory after nightmare stage one of Tour de France 2020

The Ineos Grenadiers road captain then explained that the peloton has a riders' organisation which discusss safety before the French Grand Tour, before adding the whole peloton deserves credit for their conduct today, apart from Astana.

"We’ve got this riders’ organisation. There’s a couple of guys from each team in there. We spoke about it last night in terms of how we would approach the Tour de France in general and look after each other and do the right thing when needed. And whilst you want to race, and put on the best show… it’s the Tour, you don’t want to see people creeping around." Rowe said.

"At the same time, you saw just how many crashes there were, and that was with the three descents being ridden at very careful speeds. I have to say chapeau to the whole peloton really, minus Astana, who decided to hit it down one descent and as a result their leader was then on their back. They made themselves look pretty stupid. But apart from them, chapeau to the whole peloton.”

Asked for his reaction after the finish, López didn't allude to his team's tactics, but gave assurances that he didn't suffer any injuries when he fell, and that patches of oil and white paint on the road made the route treacherous.

"Lots of crashes, a route that was quite dangerous, on the descents there was lots of white paint and patches of oil and there was lots of tension obviously, which was increased by the rain," the Colombian said. "On the last descent my rear wheel slipped away on a white line, but I’ve come out of it okay with no injuries to worry about even though I hit a road sign.

"In the end, I managed to get to the finish with the peloton and I think tonight I’ll recuperate and I’ll be ready for a big day tomorrow."

Cofidis rider Guillaume Martin said the peloton had debated whether to neutralise the race before Jumbo-Visma's Tony Martin did his best Christ the Redeemer impression and slowed the bunch.

"Last year the Tour had the hail, this time it was like a skating rink. There was lots of debate about whether to neutralise the race or not," Guillaume Martin said. "It was complicated because after such a long wait for the Tour everyone wanted this to be a real spectacle, but it was really dangerous. There were lots of spots where there was oil on the final descent. The first stage of the Tour is always nervous, add in the fact that we’ve had all the concerns about Covid, then the bad weather and it meant that any one of us could have lost everything due to chance at any moment."

>>> How to live stream the Tour de France: watch the Tour de France 2020 from anywhere 

Groupama-FDJ's Marc Madiot, who must have had his heart in his mouth after seeing Thibaut Pinot hit the deck with 3km to  the line, praised the riders for taking action, saying it was their instinct to neutralise the race rather than taking direction from organisers or team staff.

"The riders were unnerved by the race situation. The organisers put together a route, the managers make the tactics and the riders decide what to do," he said. "They did well to neutralise it between themselves because it was a skating rink. That’s down to rider instinct."

This year’s Tour de France will certainly be missing some of the biggest British names, but there are still some UK riders that will be worth keeping in mind during the race.

With Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish all left behind by their teams in 2020, we’re not likely to see the British dominance we’ve grown accustomed to over the last 10 years.

The UK has been a dominant cycling force over the last decade, with Cavendish sweeping up victories in the sprint finishes while Froome and Thomas have won five Tours between them since 2013. 

While there looks to be no real chance of a British yellow jersey winner this year, here are all the homegrown talents to keep an eye on in this year’s race. 

Luke Rowe 

Team Ineos maybe be leaving their biggest British stars behind, but they are still taking their faithful workhorse and road captain Luke Rowe, who is now heading into his sixth Tour de France.

The Welshman, a strong Classics rider in his own right, has built a reputation as a slick tactician capable of dealing with crosswinds and tricky terrain, while also having the power to lead the entire peloton for huge chunks of a stage. 

Rowe was ejected from last year’s Tour on stage 17 after an altercation with Jumbo-Visma’s road captain Tony Martin. 

While Rowe won’t be getting his own chances of glory in this year’s edition, always keep an eye out for him at the front of the bunch. 

Connor Swift 

Swift will be one of the most exciting stories to follow at this year’s Tour, as he will be supporting Nairo Quintana’s yellow jersey pursuit in his first full season at WorldTour level.

The Yorkshireman, who was riding for Madison Genesis in the UK at the start of 2019 before he was drafted to Arkéa-Samsic, told Cycling Weekly how he found out he would be riding the Tour and gave his reaction.

Swift, the unexpected British champion back in 2018, will be lining up at the Tour in just his fifth WorldTour event. 

Hugh Carthy 

Another British Tour debutant is EF Pro Cycling’s Hugh Carthy. 

The 26-year-old has been progressing at WorldTour level since joining the US squad back in 2017, having ridden three editions of the Giro d’Italia as well as two editions of the Vuelta a España so far.

Last year Carthy was one of the stand-out riders in the Giro d’Italia General Classification, finishing 11th overall. 

This year will be Carthy’s first Tour de France, where he is likely to ride in support of his team’s yellow jersey contenders Rigoberto Urán and Sergio Higuita.  

Adam Yates 

The final Brit to watch out for in the Tour de France this year is Adam Yates.

Adam and his twin brother Simon, both riding for Mitchelton-Scott, look to be part of the next generation of Grand Tour talent to emerge from Britain. 

While Adam has been a serious contender in the Tour de France, finishing fourth overall in 2016 and winning the youth classification, this year Mitchelton-Scott said they are focused solely on stage victories. 

>>> Tour de France 2020 route: Eight mountain finishes and uphill time trial to decide 107th edition 

We may not see Yates, who is heading for Team Ineos next season, leading the race overall but expect to see some ambitious and aggressive racing from the 28-year-old as he pursues his first Grand Tour stage victory.   

Luke Rowe has stepped in to help an NHS doctor after thieves stole his bike while he was working in the intensive care unit.

Tom Roberts took to Twitter after his bike was stolen from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, which caught the attention of Team Ineos rider Rowe and former Olympic champion Chris Boardman, the BBC reports.

Welshman Rowe has kindly donated a new bike for Dr Roberts, to help him keep moving during the coronavirus crisis.

Dr Roberts, 32, said: “Its pretty disappointing at the moment, particularly when the NHS is being help in potentially higher regard than it normally is.

“For someone to do that in a hospital when you are on shift working to help people an save their lives, that’s a little bit disappointing.”

Dr Roberts posted about his stolen bike on Twitter on Saturday (April 4) with Rowe responding asking the doctor to send him a direct message.

Rowe asked what kind of bike Dr Roberts had and what size he needed, adding that he would drop something round in the morning.

Dr Roberts said he will received his new bike on Monday (April 6).

The doctor added: “He didn’t have to do it, it’s very kind of him.”

>>> What will happen to pro cycling? Exploring the economic landscape after coronavirus 

The coronavirus crisis has seen a number of kind gestures made to NHS staff working on the front lines.

Bromptom has committed to delivering 1,000 bikes to NHS key workers, while a number of bike shops are giving priority to health staff.

Earlier this month, Cycling Weekly reported that Cycle Honiton in East Devon and Maison du Velo in Surrey were both giving NHS priority service to keep them moving.

Gary Blackett, owner of Cyle Honiton, said: “Basically as a goodwill gesture to help the people that are doing the most for us as a nation to save the most vulnerable in our communities.

“If we can help in a very small way by fixing their bike, then we will.”

Luke Rowe has signed a long-term contract extension with Team Ineos, allowing him to continue supporting the young riders in the squad like Egan Bernal.

Rowe, who started his career with the British WorldTour squad in 2012, will ride for Ineos for another four years, taking him up to the end of 2023.

The Welshman is an experienced road captain, but has also taken up a mentor role within the team as Ineos looks to develop the next generation of Grand Tour stars.

Team Ineos principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: “Luke embodies what this Team is all about – grit, hard work, learning from setbacks and coming back stronger, racing at the front and always putting the team first. He is a true racer, a hugely talented bike rider in his own right and someone totally committed to helping the team. He has been a big part of our past and will have an important role to play in our future.”

The 29-year-old started his career with Sky Procycling back in 2012, developing into a strong contender in the cobbled Classics, having finished in the top-10 of Paris-Roubaix and top-five in the Tour of Flanders.

But it is in the Tour de France, working as an engine on the front of the peloton and as a tactician, where Rowe has made his career.

>>> Why Chris Froome shouldn’t be dismissed from the Tour de France reckoning 

He said: “Obviously, this new contract extension shows a lot of commitment myself and the team. I turned pro here, I’ve been here from day one, and now I’m as excited as ever to be part of this new chapter with Ineos.

“I think working with the young guys is a big part of why the team has committed to me for another four years. If you look through the riders we’ve got in the team, there’s a long list of young guys who are growing and developing into riders at the very top of their game. To work with these young guys is something I really enjoy – trying to pass on what I can to help guide them on their way up in the sport.”

Team Ineos say they hope to appeal against the decision to throw Luke Rowe out of the Tour de France.

The British outfit say they are “disappointed” after the race commissaires disqualified Rowe and Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin after an altercation on stage 17.

Martin and Rowe were involved in a dispute with around 15km left to race on the stage to Gap, as Martin forced the Welshman to the side of the road, almost causing him to crash, and Rowe appeared to pushed Martin’s face.

>>> Luke Rowe: I feel like I’ve let the team and myself down

The commisssaires reviewed the footage after the stage and decided to kick both men out for an “assault between riders.”

Team Ineos tweeted just before 8pm on Wedesday (July 24): “We are disappointed that Luke Rowe has been disqualified from the Tour de France 2019 following a racing incident with Tony Martin.

“Along with Jumbo-Visma, we are currently looking into an appeal.”

Rowe said that both riders had been fighting for position at the front of the bunch near the conclusion of stage 17 of the Tour de France 2019 to Gap, causing tempers to flare but adding “it wasn’t a big thing.”

He said that both riders sat up at the 10km mark and rode to the finish together, shaking hands and admitting they were both in the wrong.

The official communication from the race jury said Rowe and Martin were “out of competition” for an assault between riders.

They were also fined 1,000 Swiss Francs (£812) points each and deducted 50 UCI points.

After the decision was announced, Rowe told ITV: “It’s the biggest sporting event in the world and to come here with this team alongside a bunch of good mates, I just feel like I’ve let them down. Of course I’ve let myself down.

“I’m quite shocked, I think it’s a very harsh punishment but it’s something I’ve got to live with now and hold my head high.”

>>> Geraint Thomas says he hopes to repeat success in the Alps in final stages of Tour de France 2019

Team Ineos principal, Sir Dave Brailsford, said: “They’ve decided to expel Tony and Luke from the race, which feels incredibly harsh if I’m honest.

“It’s nothing more than you see on most days of the race.”

Luke Rowe said he feels like he has let his team and himself down after being thrown off the Tour de France.

Welshman Rowe was involved in an altercation with Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin in the final 15km of stage 17, where Martin swerved into Rowe.

The Team Ineos road captain then put his hand on Martin immediately after.

Race commissaires reviewed the footage after the stage and eventually decided to throw both riders off the race.

UPDATE: Team Ineos looking into appeal after Luke Rowe kicked off Tour de France 2019

After the decision was announced, Rowe told ITV: “It’s the biggest sporting event in the world and to come here with this team alongside a bunch of good mates, I just feel like I’ve let them down. Of course I’ve let myself down.

“I’m quite shocked, I think it’s a very harsh punishment but it’s something I’ve got to live with now and hold my head high.”

Rowe said that both riders had been fighting for position at the front of the bunch near the conclusion of stage 17 of the Tour de France 2019 to Gap, causing tempers to flare but adding “it wasn’t a big thing.”

He said that both riders sat up at the 10km mark and rode to the finish together, shaking hands and admitting they were both in the wrong.

Team Ineos principal, Sir Dave Brailsford, said: “They’ve decided to expel Tony and Luke from the race, which feels incredibly harsh if I’m honest.

“It’s nothing more than you see on most days of the race.”

Brailsford said the situation was completely different to the incident with Gianni Moscon from the 2018 Tour, when the Italian was kicked off the race for punching French rider Elie Gesbert, saying there was no aggression between Martin and Rowe.

>>> Geraint Thomas says he hopes to repeat success in the Alps in final stages of Tour de France 2019 

The official communication from the race jury said Rowe and Martin were “out of competition” for an assault between riders.

They were also fined 1,000 Swiss Francs (£812) points each and deducted 50 UCI points.

Luke Rowe and Tony Martin have both been kicked off the Tour de France after an altercation on stage 17.

Jumbo-Visma workhorse Martin was filmed swerving in front of the Welshman, almost causing Rowe to fall in the final of the run to Gap.

The footage then shows Rowe putting his hands on Martin in the bunch immediately after.

UPDATE: Team Ineos looking into appeal after Luke Rowe kicked off Tour de France 2019

Rowe played down the moment after the stage, saying that tensions often fray deep into the three-week race.

But race commissaries announced at around 6.30pm after the stage that both riders would be sent home.

He said: “I don’t know how many Tours de France you’ve ridden but it does get a bit tense at times, but at the end of the day you’ve got to have broad shoulders and it’s no problem.

“We rode the last 10km of the stage talking to each other.

“We’re both doing the same job. It was nothing really. I rolled over the line with him, we shook hands.

“We just got in each other’s way. That’s bike racing.”

UCI commissaires reviewed the footage of the incident after the stage with Team Ineos boss Sir Dave Brailsford and sports director Nicolas Portal.

Both riders have been removed from the day's results.

Brailsford told ITV after the decision: "They've decided to expel Tony and Luke from the race, which is incredibly harsh if I'm honest.

"I've watched the clip and there's no doubt about it Tony cut up Luke a little bit, he's fought for his position a little bit. It's nothing worse than you see on most days of the race. A pretty harsh decision."

An emotional Rowe added: "We were both trying to do a job. Maybe we both overstepped the mark slightly, but it feels harsh to be thrown off the race. Neither of us deserve that."

The incident was witnessed by race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), who said he tried to defuse the situation.

Alaphilippe said: “There was a lot of tension in the peloton with everyone wanting to be well place. It was nervous. I think people were worried someone was going to attack.

“I just tried to calm the situation. There was no need to take risks.”

TV cameras captured the moment that Martin veered towards Rowe at the front of the bunch, forcing him to the right of the road.

>>> Luke Rowe: I feel like I’ve let the team and myself down

Rowe’s front wheel skips as he moves out of the way towards the fans stood at the edge of the race.

There was no action in the general classification race back in the peloton, as Matteo Trentin rode away from a 30-rider breakaway to claim the stage honours.

Rowe and Martin crossed the line in the bunch 20 minutes behind the winner, with their respective team leaders, Geraint Thomas and Steven Kruijswijk also finishing safely.

After the stage, Thomas said: "[Rowe] got me in a good position and then he sat up so, I don't know, they probably rolled in together because both jobs would have been finished then.

"It's the same all the time. Luke, Tony Martin, Erviti, Movistar, other guys and other teams, they all do the same job, they've got to get their leaders into a good position. So they always end up jostling for position. That's always happening. It was nothing crazy really."

Geraint Thomas (Ineos) has said that returning to the Tour de France as defending champion has been a much more "intense" experience, one that has been amplified by the absence of team-mate and fellow Tour winner Chris Froome.

Speaking on his new podcast with fellow Welshman and Ineos rider Luke Rowe, the pair discuss the opening week of the Tour, sharing the frustrations and anxieties of being involved in the biggest race of the year.

>>> We spoke to the person who took ‘that’ picture of Geraint Thomas’ Tour de France crash

"It's been stressful, but as a first week of the Tour it's the best I've ever done," said Luke Rowe, who as Ineos' road captain is often tasked with guiding the squad through a hazardous first week of fast racing and crashes.

"I just s**t myself every time with 3km to go," Thomas adds, "and you're sat behind the sprinters and they are these big guys bouncing around, chopping each other, throwing their bikes. You've got to stay in their slipstream, but you're thinking you just want to get to the finish in one piece.

"Especially after stage one, when I did have a buffer but ended up toppling over...you just dread those finishes."

The stresses on the bike don't necessarily end as soon as the peloton crosses the finish line, with Thomas saying the added media attention at this year's race following his surprise Tour victory in 2018 has been intense.

Thomas said: "I've boycotted- I don't list to journalists anyway, they've got a right...[Rowe interrupts: 'chip on their shoulder'] something, haven't they, to make a story. A lot was made of [me losing time to Egan Bernal on stage three], and then a lot was made of mine and Egan's leadership.

"It was a little mistake from me, suddenly because I'm a second behind the back rider, which was actually Egan, and they give the time to Michael Matthews (Sunweb) who is five seconds up the road so you lose five seconds, which is a bit frustrating."

Rowe added: "In the cycling world, stories like that will get written but when it's the Tour de France, you're the defending champ, Egan is co-leader with you, he's in the front split, it just gets blown out of proportion, everyone's questioning your form."

"It's the first week, there's not a lot going on, that's the biggest change from last year, when Froomey's been here before and I haven't been the reigning champ, I get half the questions," the 2018 Tour winner said.

Thomas revealed that frustration with the media questioning his form was part of the reason he decided to lay down a marker on stage six's summit finish on La Planche des Belles Filles, where he finished fourth, taking time out of all of his GC rivals.

"No-one gave a s**t before, now it's so much more intense. I want to stop swearing but it's bulls**t. People trying to make stories, journalists trying to over-analyse and be too clever. That's why it was good to put a marker down and put everyone in their places."

Despite this flash of frustration, Thomas then returned to his usual wry self, saying "this is another reason why we're doing this podcast, so we don't have to speak to journalists any more."

Thomas currently sits fifth on GC at the 2019 Tour de France, four seconds ahead of team-mate Egan Bernal and trailing Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) by 19 seconds.

Luke Rowe has become a stalwart of the Tour de France peloton over the last four years, relishing his position as the Team Ineos road captain.

The Welshman has supported the British WorldTour outfit to four consecutive wins in France, as Ineos looks to make it five in a row in 2019.

Rowe has shared his thoughts on the upcoming race, as he will ride in support of 2018 winner and compatriot Geraint Thomas.

>>> Mark Cavendish ‘heartbroken’ to miss Tour de France 2019

“I must be a good luck charm” Rowe said four days before the Grand Départ in Brussels on Saturday (July 6).

“Four wins out of four - it’s been a surreal experience to be involved in all of those wins.

“It’s crazy really. I’ve been very fortunate to be alongside some great champions and played my part to help us get over the line. Long may it continue.”

At the 2019 Tour, Ineos have been forced to rethink their strategy after four-time winner Chris Froome suffered a horrific crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné that means he will miss the race.

Instead the team are backing last year’s winner Thomas, with Colombian revelation Egan Bernal as a back-up.

On the chances of the two potential leaders, Rowe said: “Whether we can replicate what we did last year, who knows. I think G’s ready. He’s had a slow patient build up and he’s looking great.

“We’ve also got Egan who is in great shape as we saw in [the Tour de] Suisse.

“We are all hungry and ready for more success at the Tour – there’s no reason why we can’t do it all again.”

Rowe joined the team in 2012, then racing under the Sky Procycling banner, riding his debut Tour de France in 2015 where aided Chris Froome to his second yellow jersey.

He has since become an intrinsic part of the Team Ineos Tour squad, where he drives the pace on the front of the peloton and acts as tactician in key moments of the race in his role as road captain.

“My job is predominantly to keep the guys in a good position, do what I can throughout the flat stages and suffer through the mountains – a jack of all trades, master of none if you like.

“Being road captain sounds more glamorous than it is. In simple terms, I’ll be the one who communicates between the riders and the guys in the cars. I’ll make those split-second calls if needed. It’s a big responsibility but one I enjoy.”

>>> Tom Dumoulin says transfer ‘out of the question’ after Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma rumours 

Rowe is a formidable Classics specialist in his own right, with top-ten finishes in both Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, but a Monument victory continues to elude him.

He added: “I race 90 days a year and spend 80 days supporting others – I know my role within this team and I enjoy it. I get great satisfaction out of helping others win big races like the Tour.”

“It’s role-acceptance and I’m more than happy to do the job and help the boys.”

Luke Rowe has backed Chris Froome to make a full comeback to racing after a horrific crash saw his Ineos team-mate placed in intensive care after losing four pints of blood and suffering multiple fractures.

The Brit came off his bike on a recon of the stage four time trial course at the Critérium du Dauphiné 2019, when a gust of wind blew him into a wall as he took his hand off his handlebars to blow his nose.

>>> Tour de France 2019 start list: Provisional team squads containing Thomas, Cavendish, Nibali, Dumoulin and Sagan

He will now miss the Tour de France 2019, Ineos boss Dave Brailsford has confirmed, where he was set to compete for a record-equalling fifth title. Instead, he apparently faces six months off the bike.

Luke Rowe, who is Ineos' road captain and has been a key domestique in the last three of Chris Froome's four Tour de France victories, has issued a public statement in support of Froome.

"Chris is in a similar situation to myself. People will write him off and say his career is over," Rowe said. "But I think he will prove them all wrong. He’s a pitbull. He will never back down. I know he’ll be back - I’ve no doubts about that."

Rowe was referencing an injury he suffered in August 2017, when he broke his leg in more than 20 places while whitewater rafting on his brother's stag do in Prague.

The Welshman returned to racing after just six months out, despite an initial prognosis of 12 months off the bike.

However, knowing how hard it is to have such an extended period out of racing, Rowe said it wouldn't be easy for Froome during his recovery.

"Of course he’s got a long way back and he will go through hell mentally and physically," Rowe said. "It’s hard in the early stages. But he’s a titan and he will come through this."

In better news for Froome, while he was in hospital news emerged that he may be awarded the 2011 Vuelta a España title after Juan José Cobo was caught doping.

This would make Froome the first ever British Grand Tour winner, and would take his total Grand Tour haul up to seven victories.

Vital to Team Sky’s success at Paris-Nice, where he coached race winner Egan Bernal through the mayhem caused by the crosswinds that hit the race over its first three days, Luke Rowe came out of ‘the Race to the Sun’ with his form good, confidence high and determined to put two years of setbacks in the Classics behind him.

>>> The Monuments: Cycling’s five biggest one-day races

“For one reason or another over the last two years things haven’t gone my way,” Rowe told Cycling Weekly in Nice. “I’ve finished Paris-Roubaix in an ambulance the last two years, but this year I’m confident and think my form is better than ever.”

The Welshman believes that the one ingredient that he has been missing in the Classics is a bit of good fortune, and hopes he will find that at Milan-San Remo and, particularly, during the subsequent three weeks that he will spend in Belgium, culminating with leading Sky’s attack at Roubaix.

“Everything has to go right on the day, because to an extent you’re a lottery when you’re in those races,” he said.

“The fire in the belly is there and I want to step into them and try to get a result. Two or three years ago I was knocking on the door and looked like I was going to make a breakthrough, but I haven’t taken that next step forward in the last year or two. It’s time to step up and try to deliver a result, it’s as simple as that,” said Rowe.

Reflecting on Bernal’s Paris-Nice success, Rowe explained that Sky had taken a calculated risk by weighting its team with several climbers and with the Welshman as the one specialist rouleur to support the Colombian and Michał Kwiatkowski over the first three days on flatter roads open to the wind.

“We took a risk that we could deal with what might happen in the early days and go into in the second half still in the contest, and that paid off. Then we knew that we were in a great position. The last few days the small guys have stepped up and we’ve come out on top,” said Rowe.

The Welshman paid fulsome tribute to Bernal’s performance, suggesting that it augurs well for his future role as a Grand Tour leader. “There are GC guys who can ride in crosswinds, but there are others who can’t, and it hampers them throughout their career. You know that as soon as there’s one crosswind day they are out of the equation,” said the Welshman.

“But Egan, he’s just got it, and that’s instantly going to put him on the front foot in most GC races and Grand Tours. It’s a massive weapon to have. He wants to learn, he was asking questions, but essentially he’s just a class act.”

Rowe revealed that the Colombian did get a little nervous when compatriot and rival Nairo Quintana went clear on the final stage and became the leader on the road, but essentially remained calm.

“If you’re not calm in situations like that, you just use up energy, thinking and overthinking, being worried.

“Staying calm in situations like that demands a lot, but once you’ve developed that level of trust in your team-mates, when you can say to yourself, ‘I’m going to follow these guys whatever and wherever because I know they’re going to do the best by me, and I trust them,’ and we’ve developed that now, that level of trust and commitment.”

Luke Rowe is hoping the stars will align for him this season in his hunt for a major Classics win.

Welshman Rowe has had one-day glory within his grasp on numerous occasions, but has so far fallen short of the big win.

Having returned from a horrific leg break suffered in 2017, the 28-year-old hopes the new season could be turning point in his career.

>>> Geraint Thomas still considering 2019 Giro d’Italia ride

Rowe said: “I definitely want to get more out of the Classics. I don’t feel like I’ve reached my full potential and fully shown myself there.

“The years are ticking by. It’s not like I’m the new kid on the block anymore, I’m entering my eighth year as a pro.

“Last year, I finished Roubaix in an ambulance and Flanders with 50km to go, disqualified.

“It just didn’t really go to plan at all. The year before I crashed heavily in Flanders while in the front group.

“That’s the Classics for you. You’re getting in crashes, wrong place wrong time, while in previous years I was always right war, right place.”

Rowe’s best spring results have shown his potential on the cobbles – fifth in the 2016 Tour of Flanders, eighth in Paris-Roubaix in 2015 and third in the 2017 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

>>> Gianni Moscon to ride debut Giro d’Italia in 2019

But in recent years crashes and injury have hindered the Cardiff-born pro’s form.

In 2017, Rowe suffered a horrific leg break after he jumped into water while rafting in the Czech Republic.

After undergoing surgery, Rowe returned to racing in early 2018 but suffered crashes in his target races.

He said: “[Recovering from the leg injury] is an on-going process and it could be that way for the rest of my life.

“I had another operation this winter where I had a couple of screws taken out.

“The rod itself is still in and probably will be for the rest of my life. That’s the way it is.

“It’s not necessarily ever going to get 100 per cent better, but we’re pretty much 90 per cent of the way and I think that’s where it’s going to stay.

“I’m back riding my bike and that’s all that matters to me – that I could get back to where I was and I’ve achieved that.”

Rowe is due to open his season at the Tour Down Under in Australia, before turning his focus to the Classics, and the Tour de France.

He also hopes to ride the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships later this year, having missed the last two Worlds due to injury.

Rowe said: “They don’t come around very often, a World Champs on home soil.

“In the last few years, I don’t think we’ve lived up to our expectations and as a nation we really want to put on a performance on home soil and get a result out of the team.”

Luke Rowe has extended his contract with Team Sky through to 2021, which will take him to a decade spent with the team.

The 28-year-old turned pro with Sky in 2012 and has picked up top-10 finishes in both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Rowe’s contract is the latest signing news from Team Sky announced amidst the takeover of parent company Sky plc.

Welshman Rowe said: “I’ve been with Sky since the start of my career and I really feel a part of the furniture here.

“It’s been seven years and this deal will take me through to 10 years with Team Sky, so it was an easy decision. This is home.”

Sky said Rowe will continue to focus on the Classics in 2019 before returning to a support role at the Grand Tours.

Rowe suffered a horrific leg break in 2017 after jumping into shallow water while rafting during his brother’s stag party in the Czech Republic.

Despite fears about how the injury would affect his career, Rowe made his return this season and was selected to ride in support of Geraint Thomas at the Tour de France.

>>>Geraint Thomas’ Tour de France trophy stolen from the Cycle Show at Birmingham NEC

He said: “The team backed me straight away after my injury, whereas some teams would have turned their back.

“They helped me tackle the injury head on and looked after me every step of the way.

“If I’d have been out of contract one year earlier I’d have been in a mess. I had a year to prove myself again and come back – to show it hadn’t affected me and that I could reach the level I was at before.

“I was so fortunate to be in this team when I suffered such a bad injury.

“Sometimes the stars just align and everything works out.”

Rowe has recently become a dad after the birth of his son Oliver in the last month.

Sky said the Classics specialist is relishing fatherhood and hopes to act as a father figure to the next generation of riders.

He said: “It gives me that extra bit of motivation and inspiration to go out training and go racing – to be the best I can be. I want to make him proud.

“And hopefully with the younger guys that’s the type of thing that will be part of my role going forward – going to a race with a bunch of young lads, rallying the troops, and doing the business.”

Team Sky’s parent company, Sky plc, will be taken over by US communication giant Comcast after a bidding war against Rupert Murdoch’s 21^st Century Fox.

The takeover has sparked speculation about the future of Team Sky, compounded by the departure of Sky plc chairman James Murdoch, who was a key supporter of the cycling team.

But insiders say they are confident about the future of the team.

Team Sky recently announced the long-term signing of Colombian star Egan Bernal, which sources say is a strong sign of the team’s future.

On Bernal’s stand-out Tour of California victory, Rowe said: “Egan had been incredible before but that was his breakthrough ride, so to be a part of that was pretty special.

“We’ve got [Chris] Froomey and G [Thomas] who are Grand Tour winners and will be looking to do that for the next few years, but then you look to the likes of Egan – he’s signed a long contract and within that time he could win a Grand Tour.

“I’m excited to work alongside him.”

Team Sky's Luke Rowe will have to close his season early again due to a fracture, this time fracturing a wrist bone during the European Championships on August 12.

The incident is not as serious as last year, when the Welshman smashed bones in his right leg during his brother's stag party.

>>> Team Sky reveal the riders joining Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas in Tour of Britain line-up

The fracture, just spotted, ends his season early after helping Geraint Thomas win the Tour de France. It will leave will leave him in a plaster for six to eight weeks and force him to miss the GP Québec and Montréal.

"I got the injury back at the Euros going into the last lap. It was just a racing incident really – it wasn't anyone's fault," Rowe said in a press release.

"I clipped my right hand on a barrier on a right-hand bend. I got a small cut on my hand, and at the time it was quite sore, but I just got on with it.

"I did a Roubaix recon on the Tuesday before Deutschland Tour and then throughout that race, and certainly in the last few days, I was in quite a bit of pain. I was trying to tape the wrist but every time I hit a pothole or speed bump it was getting painful, so that's when I thought I better get a scan.

"All I had left on my race programme was Canada so there's no chance I'll be able to race there which is a shame. I'm going to be in a plaster cast for six to eight weeks to give myself the best chance for it to heal."

The Canadian races were scheduled for September 7 and 9. Rowe's last race was the Deutschland Tour, August 23 to 26.

Rowe raced to simply make the Tour de France in July. The 28-year-old broke his leg, his right fibula and tibia, while jumping into a river last summer after helping Chris Froome win Tour de France. He only returned to competition at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February this 2018 season, that was already a success since doctors said he could be out 12 months.

Back in action, he helped Sky steam roll through the Classics and win the time trial in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Coming full circle, he was selected in the eight-man squad for the Tour de France, helping Wales win its first Tour title in the race's history. It had been a "ridiculous" comeback.

"I've had a season which on paper I should never have been able to have. To be able to ride the Tour de France was probably the highlight. To go there and probably be the best I've ever been at the Tour was incredible. Even prior to that, to be at the Classics was special. Although I didn't pull off a result, to be there and be at a decent level was nice," Rowe said.

"In a situation like this you've just got to take the positives. It's just a broken wrist as opposed to 12 months ago and wondering whether I'd ever race a bike again.

"Now I'm back home in Cardiff and my wife is three weeks away from her due date for our baby. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it."

Luke Rowe claims that he light-heartedly tore down an anti-Team Sky banner at the start of stage five of the Tour de France, despite reports suggesting it was something more malicious.

"There was a guy outside the bus who had a banner saying Sky go home, when I came out the bus he was there shaking it around and was stood next to two kids wearing Sky t-shirts. He was laughing, I was laughing and I grabbed it," Rowe said.

"It was tongue in cheek and after I went over and gave his kids two bottles and was a bit of light-hearted fun, I don’t think it was a fan who genuinely disliked us. It seemed like quite a light-hearted guy, and it was no big deal."

>>> Peter Sagan untouchable as he powers to victory on Tour de France 2018 stage five

A report on Velonews, which interviewed the fan, suggested that the incident was not quite as light-hearted as Rowe implied, but when asked outside the Team Sky bus after Peter Sagan's stage five victory in Quimper, Rowe said he didn't believe he would repeat the act.

"No we’ll see how we go, but I think that’s my one banner done for the Tour now." he said.

Team Sky have had a hostile start to the Tour de France so far, with some fans booing Chris Froome, but Rowe believes the reactions are getting better.

"The presentation at the first stage wasn’t the best, but ever since then its been really good actually and day on day its getting better," Rowe said.

"Its actually quite surprising and 99.9 per cent are great fans its just that last percentage that will react the opposite way. But we are here to do a job so we just forget about it."

>>> Egan Bernal eager to learn from Froome and Thomas in Tour de France debut

Dave Brailsford also spoke about his responsibility for the Team Sky riders and staff, to protect them "physically and psychologically,"

"I’m very mindful and taking responsibility to make sure they are protected both physically and psychologically," Brailsford said.

"So I feel very responsible for Egan [Bernal] for example he is young, come here for the first time and here he is and he is like what's going on here. I think it’s a shame that he has to experience that, and sad actually."

Team Sky's sports director Servais Knaven believes in Luke Rowe's recovery from a broken leg so much that he has backed him as a surprise winner for Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.

The Welshman broke his leg after jumping into a river last summer after the 2017 Tour de France, only returning to competition at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February.

>>> Five things to look out for at Paris-Roubaix 2018

"I hope someone will win from Team Sky, of course," Knaven told Cycling Weekly. "We have the legs to win, but we could also finish fifth. Gianni Moscon will be good, Ian Stannard. If I had to name one pick... I'd say Luke Rowe.

"It's possible. He's surprising the whole world he's back on the bike that early, even making it through the Tour of Flanders and now Paris-Roubaix.

"Luke's really motivated and it's a race that suits him. I pick him, it'd be so nice to see happen."

Rowe fractured his right fibula and tibia last summer, with doctors saying it could be 12 months until he returned to competition, but he made it in six. Now, he is named as a possible winner by Sky.

Rowe broke clear in the Dwars door Vlaanderen and in Tour of Flanders rode well until the jury disqualified him for riding on a pavement ahead of the final Oude Kwaremont climb.

Rowe will ride with Ian Stannard, Gianni Moscon, Dylan Van Baarle, Christian Knees, and Geraint Thomas at Paris-Roubaix.

"Then the seventh rider who's decided but not [revealed] yet. We have a strong group of riders. Roubaix is also about the strength of the team, about having the numbers and then you can play the tactics in the final," Knaven explained.

"We have a really good team for that, for Sunday. Everyone is able to make top five when they have a good day, and that's really important."

Sky like other teams, must face a dominant Quick-Step Floors team with four strong leaders, including Tour of Flanders victor Niki Terpstra. Knaven, the 2001 Paris-Roubaix winner, also considers Sky's depth a plus.

"That's key for Roubaix, and then you need to have that one who can really make the difference. We were up there with Dylan Van Baarle in the final of Flanders and then Niki Terpstra went, and you could see he was better than all the others.

"Roubaix is a different race without the climbs so the tactic is a little bit different than in Flanders."

Thomas is parachuting in just for Paris-Roubaix after skipping the other Classics. His eye is on the Tour de France this summer, but he could not turn down a chance to race over France's cobbles.

"Thomas wanted to do Roubaix, and when he got the OK from [coach] Tim Kerrison and could put it on his programme, he was so happy, like a happy kid," Knaven added.

"You need to have someone who's happy to be there who wants to change his programme to do that race, and he loves this race and wants to do it. We need to have that, those riders who want to go 100% on Sunday.

"He did a similar thing a few years ago and he went quite far in the final and he was strong. Without any bad luck, for sure, you will see him in the final on Sunday. If that's enough to win, it's hard to say, but you never know."

Team Sky road captain Luke Rowe had a bittersweet day at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, demonstrating form which convinced him he is fully recovered from multiple leg fractures last August – despite getting disqualified from the race.

Rowe said he had been at the back of the main group of favorites when he said a touch of wheels caused him and a couple of other riders to have to jump onto the bike-path alongside the road.

“It was either go on the bike path or crash,” he said.

>>> Luke Rowe disqualified from Tour of Flanders: ‘I’m just gutted’

“It wasn’t as if I tried to fly through people, I got back onto the road at the back of the group and took the next right-hander at the back, which is the worst place to be.”

But the race commissaries, having seen him among spectators on the bike path, pulled him from the race.

Up until that point Rowe had been a constant presence at the front of the race, most covering other team’s moves or protecting team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski. He said: “I think I’m back to my best, I felt good the whole day.”

He added: “To be in the final of Flanders, one of the biggest races of the year, in a group of 30 after all the fighting throughout the day and the fighting throughout the last six months and to get pulled out of the race, it’s a tough one to take.”

Rowe added that he had had his eye on racing Flanders throughout his recovery from multiple fractures to his leg sustained on his brother’s stag weekend last August.

He said: “I’ve got a week until Paris-Roubaix and this disqualification just feeds the fire.”

British rider Luke Rowe was disqualified from the Tour of Flanders on Sunday by the race jury.

The Welshman of Team Sky allegedly rode onto a roadside bike path behind some spectators before the second pass of the Oude Kwaremont with 56km left to race.

The Tour of Flanders' official Twitter feed confirmed that Rowe had been withdrawn from the race, saying simply "@LukeRowe1990 has been taken out of the race by the race jury! #RVV #RVV18".

Team Sky replied to the tweet, saying: "Sad to see @LukeRowe1990 will be forced out of the race. Looked like he got caught out by spectators while trying to move up ahead of the Kwaremont."

Rowe himself added a statement to Twitter after he withdrew from the race in which he said he was "just gutted" to have been removed from the race after coming back from severe leg injury last year.

"What can I say, just absolutely gutted," Rowe wrote of his disqualification.

"I don't know if the full footage was shown, but there was a big flick in the line and I was on the end of it. It was either crash of go onto the bike path.

"In a split-second decision I ended up on [the] bike path, braked and made my way back to the road when it was safe to do so.

"They told me on the radio and I pulled out straight away.

"After the s**t fight against myself the last six months to be back to this race I'm just gutted to exit this race like this. The commissaires made a decision which I can't agree with but I gotta live with this, accept it and move on. In a nutshell, I'm just gutted."

Prior to the incident, Rowe had been helping to chase down the day's 11-rider escape group, working for Team Sky leader Michal Kwiatkowski at the front of the peloton.

Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) eventually won the race from a solo attack.

Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard have both been named as part of Team Sky's lineup for semi-Classic Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium on Wednesday (March 28).

It will be the first time that the two British riders have ridden together on the roads of Belgium this season, with Rowe continuing his return to form from injury and Stannard in his second race back after missing E3 Harelbeke on Friday due to illness.

Rowe is still defying predictions could be off the bike for a year after severely breaking his leg while white water rafting on his brother's stag event in August.

Even when he returned to training ahead of schedule, was not initially expected that he would take part in any races on the cobbled roads of northern Europe.

>>> Cobbled Classics: Latest news, reports and race info

However, Rowe finished 30th in Nokere Koerse on March 14, rode Milan-San Remo on March 17, then helped Team Sky to a team time trial stage win and overall victory with Diego Rosa in Settimana Coppi e Bartali in Italy last week as part of a remarkable comeback.

Stannard was forced to sit out E3 Harelbeke on Friday after suffering from an illness, but he did race in Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday, finishing 90th.

Stannard and Rowe will be joined at Dwars door Vlaanderen by Chris Lawless – who sprinted to a stage win in Settimana Coppi e Bartali on Saturday – Jon Dibben, Gianni Moscon, Kristoffer Halvorsen and Lukasz Wisniowski.

Both Rowe and Stannard are also on the provisional list of starters for Sunday's Tour of Flanders. Rowe placed fifth in Flanders in 2016.

Moscon was Sky's highest-placed rider in Friday's E3 Harelbeke, finishing eighth.

However, Sky missed out on having any riders in the top 10 of Sunday's Ghent-Wevelgem, after Moscon ended up in a roadside barrier at the foot of the Kemmelberg and was forced to expend valuable energy in trying to chase back.

The British WorldTour team also suffered bad luck in Volta a Catalunya in Spain at the weekend, when Egan Bernal had to abandon the race after a heavy crash while in second place overall.

Luke Rowe says that he is "heading into the unknown" when he tackles Milan-San Remo in Italy on Saturday.

Rowe is still on the comeback trail after suffering from a severely broken leg in August. The injury occurred at his brother's stag do while they were white water rafting in the Czech Republic. He broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg and doctors thought that he may have to have up to a year off the bike to recover.

However, having defied predictions of how long his recovery would take, Rowe made his season debut at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February.

After testing his legs on the cobbled roads of Belgium at the Nokere-Koerse on Wednesday, the Welshman feels that he is ready to tackle the first Monument of the season.

“I wouldn’t say I’m flying, far from it, but the form is slowly coming and building race-by-race," said Rowe after Nokere-Koerse.

"That was only my second race back and there’s still a long way to go, but to be there with some good guys in the end, towards the front - not necessarily doing anything special, but being there - was good for morale."

>>> Team Sky reveal Milan-San Remo line-up: Michal Kwiatkowski to lead with surprise pick for Luke Rowe

At 291 kilometres, Milan-San Remo is one of the longest races on the calendar – but Rowe appears undaunted at its distance and has the backing of Team Sky.

"A lot of questions have been answered through Abu Dhabi and Nokere, but I am heading into the unknown a little bit here, having not raced over five hours really," said the 28-year-old.

"This race will probably be seven-plus, looking at the weather. We’ll see how we go. In those last few hours it will be another indicator of how it’s all going, but I’m fairly confident.”

He continued: "I spoke to the team and said I want to go into it all now, all guns blazing. Not really hold back and pick the easy route; just get stuck into it and race the races that I always have. Try and jump straight back into the thick of it."

Team Sky has defending champion Michal Kwiatkowski at Milan-San Remo, and will be backing the Pole as its leader – particularly on the back of his overall win at Tirreno-Adriatico this week.

Rowe's season will then pick up pace, as he goes from Milan-San Remo to the Coppi e Bartali stage race (March 22-25) but concedes that he will miss the Classics, such as E3 Harelbeke and Ghent-Wevelgem.

>>> Milan-San Remo 2018: Start list, route, TV guide, and everything else you need to know

“Coming back and racing Abu Dhabi was way ahead of schedule, so that was great, but now I’m just trying to put the whole accident to the back of my mind, forget about it... I’m hoping for the best over the next six or eight months."

Beyond riding in Coppi e Bartali, Rowe says that he and the team will "take it from there" when deciding the rest of his 2018 race programme.

Luke Rowe (Team Sky) appears to be already back to his best in the Abu Dhabi Tour just six months after a potentially career-threatening broken leg. The return is allowing him to plan for the coming months, perhaps even returning to the Classics in April.

Rowe broke his right leg in more than 20 places when jumping into a river during his brother's stag party in August, just weeks after helping Chris Froome to his fourth Tour de France title.

He was unsure of returning to racing, and certainly not as soon as February in the Abu Dhabi Tour. On stage two, however, he was riding "full-gas" in the front echelon with the peloton split into bits by the Arabian winds.

"It was good fun," the 27-year-old Welshman said. "It was good to spice it up a bit. I was quite glad the wind came and made a bit of race of it.

"It's good fun when you are going full-gas, doing 60kmh and your heart rate is over 190 the whole time. It's perfect."

>>> Luke Rowe dreams of Classics return just months after shattering his leg in more than 20 places

Even if the race came back together and Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) won the stage, this is the perfect return at the end of a frustrating six months.

"It just feels good, it's been a long six months, drawn out, frustrating at times. It's just a good feeling to be here with the team and pin a number on."

The original prognosis was 12 months out, not six months, so already racing in February is a positive step for Rowe.

"I'm at the stage now, where I think I can definitely return to 100 per cent," Rowe continued.

"In the early stages, much went through my head, if I would return or how good could I would be. There were some scary times. I'm lucky that I was in a position, surrounded by amazing staff and having the facilities. I'm grateful for that. That's a big reason why I cam back so soon."

>>> Five things to look out for at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Going forward Rowe could find himself among Sky's cobbled Classics team. He led the group over previous seasons alongside Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas, Michal Kwiatkowski and Gianni Moscon.

In 2017, he placed sixth in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and third in third in the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the early Belgian Classics, which take place this weekend. In 2016, he rode to sixth in the Tour of Flanders. However he said that he is not yet calling up the team to say, "Reserve a spot for me in the roster."

"Ha ha! Yogi [Stannard] won't have a signal he's at the top of a volcano [training in Tenerife] at the moment. But no, I think that after this race I don't have a race programme.

"On the Monday after this, I'll go home and see how I am. There's not any point of making a race programme because we didn't know how I'd be here. If I'd be all right, or get my head kicked in.

"Until the week is over, we won't know the answers to that. But when this race is over I'll give them a buzz and see what they are saying. Maybe look towards them classics, I don't know if they are possible or not, but...

"It's realistic to be there, I could be on the start line, but is it realistic to be there in good shape? Unless you are there in good shape, you might as not even be there because you'll just climb off at the feed zone.

"The level is so high. You have to be good, if I'm not good, I won't be there. But yes, it is realistic to be good there. It's possible."

The Classics include the E3 Harelbeke on March 23, Ghent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders and on April 8, Paris-Roubaix.

Luke Rowe will return to action for Team Sky at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February, racing for the first time since breaking his leg in 25 places last year.

The career-threatening injury, which occurred after Rowe jumped into shallow water on a rafting trip for his brother's stag do, left the 27-year-old spending the last part of 2017 and the off-season in rehabilitation.

>>> Ruta del Sol 2018: Everything you need to know about Chris Froome’s return to racing

Rowe posted a message on his Facebook page on Friday confirming he'd be heading to the Middle East for the stage race between February 21-25, saying "I never though I'd be in a position to race at the end of February" considering the diagnosis of the injury, which happened in August.

"A lot of people have asked when I'll start racing and what I'll do next, so I though I'd let you know” he said in the video message.

"A lot of the season will be a big question mark. I'm not really sure what will happen for the rest of the season but I know that my first race back will be Abu Dhabi.

"I'm looking forward to getting back with the team. They've given me the best support possible and that is part of the reason I'm back so soon, for sure."

Rowe was able to return to riding relatively quickly after the start of his rehabilitation, and was able to join Team Sky for their annual December training camp in Mallorca, and said he had recently completed his longest ride yet of five and a half hours.

A Classics specialist, while Rowe was able to confirm his initial return to racing, he was unable to shed any light on whether a Classics campaign might be possible, saying there was a question mark over how his injury would hold up on the cobbles. Likewise, a Grand Tour ride in 2018 is also an unknown.

"It's unbelievable to think that I'll be back that soon to racing. It's just a couple of weeks away now. From the diagnosis that I had at the start and partway through the rehab, I never though I'd be in a position to race at the end of February. So, it's just been amazing, really.

"I could go to Abu Dhabi and be good and be a benefit to the team or I could just get my ass handed to me - I'm not really sure.

"I'd love to ride the Classics. I love them races, they are where my heart is. But with the type of injury I sustained, with the cobbles, I'm not sure how that will play out."

Luke Rowe has said riding the Tour de France this year will be one of his goals as he continues his journey back from a serious injury sustained last summer. Rowe broke both his tibia and fibia jumping into shallow water on his brother’s stag do last August.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly ahead of the team’s December training camp in Mallorca, he said: “I’m not ruling out riding the Tour de France in 2018 for a fourth time.”

>>> ‘One big crash and it would shatter’: Luke Rowe says he’ll have ‘no regrets’ approach when he returns from broken leg

Rowe was keen to emphasise that he is entering a tricky stage in his return to full fitness. “I’m way ahead of the schedule the doctors gave me. I didn’t cut any corners, I just managed to do things sooner than expected.”

The Welshman added: “It’s hard to put a timescale on it because you don’t know how your body is going to react, but it’s nice to think that come February I could be training full gas. I hope to be racing again by April or May. My surgeons have told me to expect plenty of stepping stones in order to recover from this injury. It’s just up to me to complete them.”

Rowe would usually be training for around four to five hours a day on the bike in winter, but was doing only 10-12 hours in his first week ahead of flying to Mallorca.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2csqgpsRhWU

He said the last few months had “undoubtedly” been the lowest of his career.

“If anything, it’s made me realise how much I love it [racing] and I want it now more than ever… I've missed being with the lads, at the races and on the bus. Being away from them and the whole pro cycling team set-up has made me appreciate it more,” he said.

He said the team’s support had been crucial.

“What they’ve done for me has been incredible. I wouldn’t be where I am now without their support.

"People seem to think it’s because they have the budget, but that’s not true. It’s the passion and the time they put in. I owe them a massive thank you.”

However, his contract is up for renewal this year and he is keen to consider every option for the next stage of his career.

Now back on a track bike as he recovers from a badly broken leg, Luke Rowe has revealed that one bad crash could see him sustain longer lasting injuries that could mean he never rides a bike - or even walks - again.

The Team Sky rider shattered the tibia and fibula in his right leg into more than 20 pieces when he jumped into a whitewater rafting course on his brother's stag party in Prague in August.

Rowe recently returned to two wheels as he took in a few laps of the Newport velodrome, but says that the decision to leave a metal rod in place to heal his fractures could have consequences if he were to suffer another bad fall.

"I have a metal rod in there," Rowe said in an interview with The Telegraph. "We’ve had a few discussions about whether to leave it in or take it out. And we’ve decided that we’re going to leave it in to strengthen the tibia.

"But if I was to crash and if it was a big one, well, you can imagine… the rod bends, the bone doesn’t. So it would shatter and I would never ride a bike again. Potentially never walk again. I would never have full use of my leg."

>>> What is the best route to recovery from injury?

Despite the threat of a bad crash having potentially career-threatening and life-changing consequences, Rowe says that he has no plans to do anything differently when he returns to racing.

"I’ve just got to crack on and if I crash, you know, it would be a horror story and I’d go and stack some shelves. No regrets," he continued. "You can’t wrap yourself up in cotton wool. It was just super unlucky."

Watch: Pro Bike - Luke Rowe's Pinarello K8

Although Rowe is now back riding on the track and hoping for a return at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April, he says that at the time of the accident there was concern that the injury may put an end to his career as a professional cyclist.

"The surgeon said ‘There’s a good chance you will never ride a bike again’. That was probably the worst moment of my life," the 27-year-old said. "I just sat on my bed and broke down and cried. It was stand out the worst moment of my life."

Working with doctors and Team Sky physiotherapist Nathan Thomas, Rowe is now gong through a rigorous regime of strengthening work in the gym, a routine he describes as "doing what you have to do", receiving praise for his attitude towards recovery from members of the team's support staff.

>>> How do professional riders spend the off-season?

Seeing the injury as a chance to come back even stronger, the Welshman hopes that he will at least get to ride one Grand Tour in 2018, setting his sights on the Vuelta a España at the end of August.

"Especially with all this gym and rehab, the opportunity is there to work on your weaknesses. I’m fully optimistic I’ll be back stronger than before.

"I will definitely ride the Vuelta next year I think. The Tour could be a bit ambitious but I’m not ruling myself out of that."

He may not be putting a timeline on his comeback, but Luke Rowe is looking on the bright side as he continues his recovery from a broken leg at the start of August.

Rowe broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg while white water rafting during his brother's stag party in Prague, fracturing the bones 'into multiple pieces' and being set for a considerable period off the bike.

Three months on, and steadily working on his rehabilitation, Rowe is optimistic about his chances of making a full recovery, receiving glowing reviews from Team Sky's medical staff.

>>> Luke Rowe goes into gruesome detail in describing broken leg that could put him out for a year

"From my point of view it's been easy because you've got someone who's motivated and wants to get better," said Team Sky physiotherapist Nathan Thomas in a video on the team's Facebook page.

"You would expect an athlete to be a bit more downbeat and see the negative side of things, but it's a testament to Luke's mental strength that he's always seen the positive side and been jovial, thinking 'when am I going to be back'.

"He's also seeing this as an opportunity to come back even better than he was before the injury. An injury is an opportunity to become an even better athlete, and I think that he'll do that."

Watch: How to corner

Having been in the gym exercising in a wheelchair just three weeks after the crash, Rowe is now able to put weight on his injured leg, but admits that the rehabilitation has been a mental struggle as well as a physical one.

"It's been busy and it's been adventure," Rowe said. "I've come a long way already, but there's still a long way to go.

"Compared to being on a bike, mentally it's harder because you're not doing what you want to do, you're doing what you have to do."

>>> How to successfully bounce back after a crash

Despite initial fears that the severity of Rowe's injury could mean him missing the entirety of the 2018 season, the Welshman now seems optimistic that he will be back in action at some point next year, even if he is not yet at the point of setting a specific target for his comeback.

"I haven't set myself a date or a race or a target. I've just said to myself 'get back as soon as you can'," Rowe continued. "Whether that's Roubaix or the Tour or the Tour de Poitou-Charentes, I don't care. I just want to be back as soon as possible, and whatever race it is I'll be there as quick as I can."

"Everyone knows that I've got a love of the Classics, but I think it's going to be pretty unrealistic to be there. And that will be hard.

"I never took it [being a professional rider] for granted. I always knew how lucky I was and the level of racing that I was at. It gives you that Eye of the Tiger and you just want to get back and smash it. I'm looking forward to that even if it's still a while away."

The latest milestone in Rowe's recovery was his first bike ride since the crash, as he completed a few laps of the velodrome in Newport on Saturday.

He has previously said that he hopes to attend some of Team Sky's pre-season training camps, hoping to get to know some of the team's new recruits and be involved in planning for the year ahead.

Luke Rowe has started strength work in the gym as he begins his recovery from a broken leg sustained in an accident at a stag party in August.

The Welshman broke his tibia and fibula while white water rafting in Prague on his brother's stag party, an injury which is likely to put him out of action for much of the 2018 season.

However Rowe explained that he was already hitting the gym in an attempt to keep doing some sort of exercise.

"I was already doing little exercises after a week just to keep the strength in my leg and I’m on my way to the gym now, so that’s a step forward," the 27-year-old said.

>>> Luke Rowe column: 'A rock took all the impact on oneleg and broke it in multiple places'

"I’m going to start doing some anaerobic work, things like hand cycling. They might try and prop me up on a rowing machine! It just feels good to be able to do something.

"I’m obviously spending a lot of time at home, but I’m using the machines to help with muscle strength and bone healing and doing physio at home, so that takes up a good chunk of time and you can get into a bit of a routine."

Although back exercising, Rowe said that it was impossible to put a timescale on his return at such an early stage, with rest and recovery being the main priorities.

>>> Luke Rowe goes into gruesome detail in describing broken leg that could put him out for a year

However with plenty of time on the sofa, Rowe has had to find ways to keep himself entertained, with watching cycling on TV not being his only distraction.

"I’ve been watching the Vuelta on TV and supporting the boys. It’s obviously been great to see them going so well.

"I’ve also been smashing Only Fools and Horses and getting through the boxsets as well."

Rowe also said that he hoped to attend some of the team's pre-season training camps not only to help his recovery, but also to meet some of the team's new riders.

"I’ll be around the team when we start doing the planning for next season, trying to get to the camps, getting to know the new guys and being where all the physios are with the gadgets and gizmos to help with my recovery," he continued.

"The team has been great and done everything I could have asked or in these first few weeks."

Luke Rowe has described in graphic detail the broken leg that he sustained while whitewater rafting on his brother's stag do, revealing that he could be out for more than a year.

The Welshman, who was already recovering from breaking a rib on stage two of the Tour de France, fractured the tibia and fibula in his right leg when he jumped into the water while rafting in the Czech Republic.

"I knew straight away how serious it was, it was excruciating pain and there are quite a few broken bones. It was a case of trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible and into an ambulance," Rowe told BBC Wales Sport.

"I lifted my leg, but my foot stayed still, it was kind of hanging off, limp. The bone didn't break the skin, but it is pretty scary when you look down and see that when you are on the side of a riverbank."

Rowe described the incident as a "freak accident" and that he immediately knew how bad the injury was. Since being flown from Prague back to Cardiff, the 27-year-old has had one surgery, and said that he'd have to wait and see how he reacted to subsequent operations before a timeline could be set for his recovery.

>>> Luke Rowe column: Good days and bad days at the Tour de France

"I've been asking the doctors time and time again. When can I train? When can I walk? When can I get back on a bike?" Rowe continued.

"The first questions I asked were for dates because you get impatient. But essentially the doctors are all telling me the same thing. We do know that operation by operation, scan by scan, it will get better. But the timescale? We just don't know that.

"It's a moment in your career where your back is against the wall and you really need to roll your sleeves up. It's going to be a tough few months for me and it could be up to 9-12 months - that's realistic."

Rowe has proved himself a highly valuable member of Team Sky over the past few years, both as a team leader in the cobbled Classics, and as road captain at major stage races including the Tour de France.

Luke Rowe looks set to miss the rest of the 2017 season after breaking his leg while whitewater rafting on his brother's stag do.

The Welshman broke his tibia and fibula in the incident, and is now recovering at home in Cardiff after surgery.

"My brother Matt is getting married and so I was away with family and friends for his ‘stag party'. On the first morning we went whitewater rafting. I jumped down into the water but landed in a shallow section on my right leg.

"Being a bike rider you get in a lot of scrapes and you get used to injuries, but I knew straight away that it was a bad one."

>>> Luke Rowe goes into gruesome detail in describing broken leg that could put him out for a year

Rod Ellingworth, Team Sky's performance manager and Rowe's coach, said that the 27-year-old was set for a long time off the bike.

"An injury like this is a test of character for anyone, but character is something Luke has plenty of. "He’s a really important part of our team and, as a team, we'll be right behind him throughout his recovery."

The team are not putting a timeline on Rowe's recovery, but he will certainly miss the rest of the 2017 season, and could miss most of the 2018 season too.

>>> Luke Rowe column: Good days and bad days at the Tour de France

"The support I’ve had from the team and specialists has been fantastic and I know I'm in the best possible hands," Rowe said.

"It's early days, but speaking to the surgeon about the injury and my rehab gave me confidence so now it's a case of working towards getting myself back on the bike. I'm determined to get back racing as soon as I can."

Luke Rowe rides for Team Sky, and has just finished the 2017 Tour de France where he rode in support of overall winner Chris Froome. Luke writes for Cycling Weekly every week

I’ve been back in Cardiff since the Tour de France ended a couple of weeks ago. It’s been nice to spend some time with my wife, friends and family doing all sorts but not much bike riding. I took six days completely off; I’m still kind of feeling the effects of that crash during the Tour so needed a little bit of time of total recovery, we call it, where you don’t even look at a bike.

I got Zwift [virtual turbo trainer game] installed this week. They came and fitted a system for me to use so I’ve been riding with G [Geraint Thomas] and my brother so I’m getting into it! It’s a bit of fun. I don’t like riding it for a long time but do enjoy it, so one day I did two 50-minute sessions.

It’s a lot more entertaining than a turbo — people say turbo is a great option if it’s raining but I’d rather go out and get wet; I hate it. We’ll see how I go with this, but generally it’s been good to ride and do what I want, when I want, on the bike.

I’m going out with my wife for a ride this week and it’s nice to ride at whatever speed you want and just relax.

Back to the Tour, and I think this year’s race was a lot more tactical in the sense that you needed to take strength in numbers to do well. People can have stronger teams but essentially you’ve got to have the best leader.

You can have the strongest team in the world but if you don’t have the best leader to back it up it’s no good at all. I think at Sky we had the strongest team and undoubtedly the strongest leader.

>>> Luke Rowe column: Chris Froome eats, sleeps and breathes the Tour de France

A lot of people were saying prior to the race they weren’t sure about our team compared to previous years but we laid all those doubts to rest. For me the man of the match was Michał Kwiatkowski. Whatever the road: uphill, downhill or flat, he was there. He’s just been absolutely incredible.

We lost Geraint [Thomas, on stage nine to a crash] and someone had to step up and I think he’s the man who did. What can you say about him? Even off the bike he’s great to have around, a great character, he reads a race fantastically. It was a pleasure to ride alongside him.

Welshman Luke Rowe was part of Team Sky's Tour de France squad in support of four-time winner Chris Froome, and he writes exclusively each week for Cycling Weekly.

This year’s Tour de France has been a tough three weeks; on paper potentially you look at it at the start and think it’s not that hard but there’s been some super long days. There’s simply no easy kilometre in the Tour. It’s never slow; it’s always a couple k and a half faster than any other race.

I think this has been the toughest Tour of the three I’ve done, the organisers put on a really great route to make the race go down to the wire. Obviously we want to be winning by a country mile but it’s simply not possible, and for the riders, the teams, and, more importantly, the fans a close race is great for them.

I think the last two editions I contributed more to the team, I haven’t been able to do quite as much this year and that goes back to breaking my rib and carrying an injury from a crash on stage two. But I’ve still been able to do my job pretty much every day and ride on the front when needed.

>>> Chris Froome: ‘I never dreamed of being named alongside Merckx, Anquetil, Hinault, and Indurain’

People underestimate it, but even to make it to Paris and come across the Champs Élysées and make it through the race for any rider is a massive achievement. It gives you goose pimples, when you come onto that road there’s a roar of noise. The Champs Élysées is the most iconic sight in cycling and you feel fortunate just to be a part of that; it’s an electric feeling.

I had my mum, dad, wife and my best mate and his missus over in Paris so had a crew of five joining Sky’s post-race party. I had burger, pizza, chips and as much alcohol as you can imagine — it’s a pretty heavy night! I haven’t drunk alcohol for months and months — you build it up and open that valve and the cider was certainly flowing.

Chris’s victory is a pinch-yourself moment. It’s not until you go home and see all the coverage in the press and see a bit more of the race that you realise just what he’s achieved.

I spent a lot of time with him prior to the Tour and he just puts his heart and soul into it. He eats, sleeps and breathes the Tour de France. Everything he does, every little effort, he ticks every box and leaves no stone unturned — he’s the ultimate professional and everything he gets is deserved.

It’s an honour to be a part of that. He’s the ultimate leader and ultimate bike racer and chapeau to him!

Welshman Luke Rowe is Sky’s road captain and is currently riding the Tour de France. He is also a Cardiff Devils ice hockey fan.

I’ve been recovering from that crash during the first week of the Tour de France and now feel back to my usual self.

I don’t care about how I go personally in the race but that feeling when you are at 90 per cent and you can’t give 100 per cent to the team because your body is not cooperating is one of the worst feelings. Luckily that’s been a lot different and I’ve felt a lot stronger.

Chris Froome losing the yellow jersey after stage 12 fuelled the fire — the past Tours I’ve been a part of, once he’s got it, he’s never really lost it. In 2015 Tony Martin took it off him for a couple of days early in the race but he was never a long-term threat. Losing it to Fabio Aru was something new for us but the very next day we bounced back.

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

You could see Froomey was quite disappointed that day but he’s got a big heart and will keep fighting and that epitomises the last few days he’s had. It was quite fun to be on the other side, to attack and race aggressively as opposed to defensively and controlling the break.

It was a breath of fresh air and showed people what we can do and how we ride super-aggressively if we don’t have the jersey to try and blow the race to bits. It was good for the fans to see a different side to the way we race.

The short 101km day on stage 13 was ballistic. After 25k we hit the first climb and I think myself and 120-130 others were dropped there.

Even in the first 25k I was getting involved and attacking, and it was pretty fast and furious. Those stages are good and exciting for the fans and are certainly the way forward. They’ve produced the best racing as well.

Someone came up and told me a couple of days ago I was the lanterne rouge after a few guys had pulled out. Honestly, I had no idea as I don’t look at the bottom end of the GC or where I am and where I finish on the stages.

I’m focusing on doing everything I can for Froomey then sit up and lose time where I can and make sure I’m fresh to do as good a job the next day. So I guess in one way it proves I’m doing my job right. Although Dan McLay overtook me the other day!

Note: Since this was written, Dan McLay has withdrawn from the Tour with illness, so Luke is back as lanterne rouge

Welshman Luke Rowe is Sky’s road captain and is currently riding the Tour de France. He is also a Cardiff Devils ice hockey fan.

Last weekend I think everyone was expecting fireworks and they certainly got them, as both days were raced full gas. You could see it coming all week; it was kind of like the calm before the storm.

On Saturday I had a really bad day. I’ve still got a few injuries from the crash on stage two and I think it all caught up with me a little bit. The stage was 187km and there were seven of us out the back with 150km to go.

We just rode as hard as we could uphill and as fast as we could downhill. We made the time cut by about five minutes in the end.

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

On Sunday I felt so much better, like a new man. Maybe it was a bit of a shake-up of the body or whatever, but I felt good again to do my share of the work and pull on the front for the first 80-90km.

How I felt on the bike those two days was like chalk and cheese, but it was nice to go into the rest day on a good note.

There are times when you’re in a gruppetto where you can calculate things — like on Sunday’s stage, you can work out how to take it as easy as possible but still make the cut.

Saturday’s stage to Station des Rousses, though, was a case of ride the climbs as fast as you can, descend like crazy and see where you are at the finish. There was no thought process, it was just go and hope for the best.

A lot has been said about the route of Sunday’s stage and I think the descents would have been dangerous had it been dry, but with rain added into the equation it made the roads slippery like it does in any race.

Some people have said the parcours was a bit too much, but I think it’s more that the stage was raced full gas by a lot of riders.

I hope everyone who crashed is OK, because I have a lot of close friends here and everyone is a colleague.

For Sky, take Geraint Thomas’s crash out of the equation and on the first rest day we have the yellow jersey and have stuck some time into the other GC guys. We’ve had a hard weekend but everyone’s in good shape, we have good morale and we’re ready to battle on.

I always said from when I was quite a young age that if I didn’t make it as a cyclist I either wanted to join the army or be a fireman.

Anyone who knows me knows I am not the type of person who can sit behind a desk. I can’t sit still, even as a kid I had ants in my pants, and I get bored easily.

My alternative career would have to be something where you’re up and active and you’re doing something different each day.

>>> Luke Rowe column: ‘If we could do two days training in one day, we could spend Sunday hungover in bed'

My granddad was in the RAF so he’s got some good stories, and to be able to show me his war memorabilia was always pretty cool as a kid. It’s just something I’ve found quite interesting. If I had to choose one I’d say I’d like to join the army.

There are quite a lot of similarities between what we do and being in the army, I imagine.

I think it would be disrespectful to the people in the army to say it’s too similar because they’re risking their lives and serving their country whereas we’re just racing round bikes in the middle of France wearing lycra.

Watch now: Luke Rowe: show us your scars

At the same time there are similarities. You get quite regimented as a cyclist and get into a routine with your training, your diet, your lifestyle – meeting for rides at the same time, with the same people each day.

You don’t really realise how regimented your life is until you get to the off-season.

You have to do things day-in, day-out and then when you have a month where you don’t have to answer your phone, your emails or do anything and be anywhere at any time you find yourself getting a bit lost and a bit lazy.

>>> Luke Rowe column: ‘The climbers ride at what they consider an easy pace but for me it’s pretty hard’

But the difference between the two is the actual job. Those in the army are the biggest heroes of the world, I think.

Some people potentially look up to us as professional cyclists and think the top guys in our sport do heroic things, but we’re just racing bikes.

During my third and final year on the British Cycling Academy I was living in Manchester throughout the winter. Me and the other riders quite enjoyed a night out from time to time but we always made sure we did the training at the same time.

If you’re going to party in the night you’ve got to get up the next morning and do the training! We were quite balanced and good like that; most of the time if we were going out, we’d make sure we backed it up with training and got the work done.

>>> Luke Rowe column: ‘The climbers ride at what they consider an easy pace but for me it’s pretty hard’

There was one weekend when a few of us walked over to Sainsbury’s to do some shopping and on the way back got given a flyer for an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest pub crawl, taking place that Saturday night.

We thought: ‘This sounds awesome; we’ve got to be a part of this.’

We had to do five hours’ training on the Saturday and three hours on the Sunday. Our theory was if we were able to do the two days’ training and eight hours in one day we could go on the night out and spend the Sunday hungover in bed.

We believed we had still done our training and hadn’t skived.

It was myself, Simon Yates, Tom Moses, Joe Kelly and Jon Mould — we went out really early at about 6am. We’d planned this massive loop though actually ended up riding even longer — about nine hours — what is probably still to date the longest ride I’ve ever done!

Watch now: Stepping up to 100 miles

We didn’t even have time to stop in a proper cafe, we just grabbed a bacon butty from a roadside burger van.

We got home from this epic ride and said we’d meet in an hour and start having a few pints and then go. Only thing was, we were that tired we didn’t even make the pub crawl! It came to crunch time to go out and no one was up for setting the Guinness World Record.

The whole thing was a flop — I think we were all in bed by 8pm!

It’s something the guys and me still talk about and laugh about now — one of our many stupid ideas.

Pretty much every time I race I share a room with Yogi [Ian Stannard]. We have a similar race programme so every time we race together we room together.

Nine times out of 10 I’m with him. That’s quite cool because you get to know each other’s patterns and how each other works, you give each other a bit of space when you need it. You get into a good little routine.

His good habit is going to bed early, he’s pretty good at knocking the light off early and getting his head down which puts me in a similar frame then. He’s like the Dad in the bedroom; if I was on my own I’d end up watching movies late and not sleeping so well and not recovering.

>>> Luke Rowe column: After the cobbles

The odd few times we’re apart I room with someone else it’s a bit strange, I feel so out of sync! Like in Paris-Nice I was with Phil Deignan, he’s a funny guy but he walks around naked quite a lot. He’s not a big fan of clothes, verging on a bit of a nudist at times.

The messiest roommate – he was almost famous for it – was Jez Hunt. Jez had this amazing ability to walk into a room, open his suitcase and within five minutes it would be everywhere.

Him and Danny Pate are probably on a bit of a level playing field. We were at a race in Canada one year and that’s around September time, and Danny pulled out a number from his kit bag from the Tour of Oman the year before. So he hadn’t been through his suitcase to realise he had a number in his bag from 18 months prior.

>>> Luke Rowe column: ‘When you get urine thrown in your face during a race it’s never nice’

Juan Antonia Flecha used to always play pranks. He was a nightmare! He used to put cling film across doorways – he’d do it all the time, on the bus when you walked out of doorways. He must have been constantly going to the kitchen truck to get cling film.

I’d say I’m probably an average roommate; I’m average on tidiness. Though when I go for a pee in the night I try to aim on the side and not down the middle in the toilet, so I don’t wake up my roommate. That’s something you’ve got to learn! I think that makes you a good roommate, a respectful roommate, and I’ve got that down to a T. I’d probably give myself about five out of 10.

During the year, I split my time between the South of France and home in Cardiff.

When it’s game time and time to train, I’m based in the South of France, and when I take my foot off the gas and rest I tend to be in Cardiff.

Team Sky has got around 12 or 13 of us based on the Côte d’Azur in France — we’ve got a team house here. It's a perfect climate — not only in the summer in the winter as well.

>>> Luke Rowe column: A crazy bet over not wearing winter gloves

Then there’s the terrain: it’s virtually impossible to do a ride with less than 2,000 metres climbing. Mix all those factors together and it’s a great place to train.

We use the Col de la Madone a lot. During the summer you’ll do a time trial effort up there and know what you’ve done in the past and what you can aim for.

It’s a beautiful climb too — all the way up you can see over the sea, though it’s not so beautiful when you’re doing your test efforts!

It’s like one big playground here, even after living here for a few years there’s always a new road to be explored. Last weekend we went on Google Maps and found a gravel road up a mountain and took that. It’s so quiet and there are so few cars you can roam around.

In 2014 I went on a ride with Mat Hayman and planned on doing about three or four hours, but we got really into it and ended up doing about seven! It was one of those character-building rides, we got a bit lost, got back and it was almost dark.

Watch now: Which is faster - climbing in or out of the saddle?

You do the majority of your training with team-mates but there are so many riders based around here it can be a breath of fresh air going for a ride with people on other teams too.

This week I was out with Calvin Watson from Aqua Blue and Caleb Ewan from Orica-Scott.

When I’m home I do quite a bit of riding with my dad — he probably trains more hours than I do, he’s a beast!

My favourite ride from Cardiff is when you head out towards the Vale on the country lanes in between Cardiff and Cowbridge, get a coffee and ride back.

It’s only about two hours but it used to be a massive adventure when I was a kid!

After Paris-Roubaix I took a week off the bike to enjoy myself and completely reset the batteries.

I went to Center Parcs last weekend with the family, which was nice to keep normal and relaxed.

The only way to get around is on a bike though — it might not be the marginal gains training approach that Sky approve of but it’s miles in the saddle nonetheless! I enjoyed the week then it’s back to the grind.

This is a strange period, a transitional period, as once Roubaix is over you have an instant mindset change looking forward towards the Tour de France.

In general you’ll race the Classics maybe two or three kilos heavier than you would the Tour.

Watch now: Tour de France 2017: essential guide

I think that just makes you a bit robust throughout the Classics season.

Often there’s bad weather — this year aside — so you’re a bit more resilient to the bumps and bruises you take along the way.

It’s not quite as important to be super skinny and light.

It’s a long process and there’s no stress about it, but personally I’d like to get down to 71, 72 kilos for the Tour.

Building to a Grand Tour you put more hours into your regime, more hours will be spent on the bike so that helps already.

Though I have to be careful about what I do with my weight, some guys have to be really freakish about it but luckily that’s not me.

>>> How to lose weight cycling: Six essential tips

I can get down to that weight compared to some guys a lot more easily, so I can still be a bit of a normal human at the same time.

Another change people might not think about is the fact you go into the Classics as leader or joint team leader and have that opportunity to race for yourself, then going into this phase I have a complete role reversal.

I’m now going to be a domestique. I’ll have to think less about myself and start thinking of others a bit more. There’s a role reversal in the way I race and the race programme too.

A disappointed Luke Rowe said he was “really gutted” to have crashed out of contention at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, berating bad luck that ended what looked to be a promising ride after he came down behind Sep Vanmarcke.

The Welshman and Sky executed their tactics exactly as they wanted the first half of the race and having anticipated an attack going on the Muur van Geraardsbergen they were at the front when Tom Boonen forced the move.

Both Rowe and Gianni Moscon got on the right side of the split, joining a strong 14-rider group that also included Quick-Step trio Boonen, Philippe Gilbert and Matteo Trentin, Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) and Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac).

However, while descending the Kwaremont for the second time with around 53km to go, Belgian Vanmarcke got his wheel stuck in a gutter in the road and brought down Rowe who was following behind.

After finishing fifth in Flanders in 2016 Rowe has been targeting a major result during the Spring Classics campaign, with third in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne at the end of February his best result so far. He narrowly missed the decisive split at both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3-Harelbeke, while at Ghent-Wevelgem he abandoned before the finish.

“I’m really gutted to be honest,” Rowe told Cycling Weekly, after eventually crossing the line in 120^th place. “You race these Classics year on year and very rarely does it go exactly how you want it to go, and be in a perfect place and be in a great situation. I was in a group of 10 guys and I felt as strong as any one of them.

“You keep saying ‘unlucky then but next year and next year’, but how many more times do you have to say next year you know? Year’s are going by, it’s frustrating.”

The fact that a rider as experienced as Vanmarcke could make a simple mistake and crash, Rowe said, showed how unpredictable the Classics can be — with riders needing luck on their side to succeed.

Watch: Tour of Flanders 2017 highlights

“It happened so quick it was just a blink of an eye,” the 27-year-old explained.

“Anyone who has ever ridden in Belgium will know the deadly gutter in the middle of the road and he got his wheel caught in there. We were probably doing 60k an hour down there, so it was a fast bit of road, and his bike and body were in front of me and I was down straight away.

“Sep is one of the most experienced Classics riders so it proves even the best can make a simple mistake and unfortunately I was smack bang on his wheel with nowhere to go.

“We speak about the Classics and how unpredictable they are and how you need luck on your side, but it definitely wasn’t there today."

Sky’s Flanders line up featured three race debutants — including British neo pros Owain Doull and Jon Dibben — with the duo also set to race Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. Yet Rowe admitted despite their inexperience they’ve slotted straight into the team and performed well.

“We were pretty sure it was going to go on the Muur and the boys did a great job getting us in the front there. I want to praise them really — without them doing that work it wouldn’t be possible to be in that race winning situations,” Rowe said.

“Doull and Dibben, the way they’ve stepped up is really impressive. They stepped straight into it, first year pros, first crack at the Classics and they really are where they need to be.”

Sky will next race at Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, before competing at Roubaix - the final cobbled Classic of the campaign — on Sunday. Rowe said the team is more suited as a whole to the pavé of the Hell of the North than Flanders — with Ian Stannard hoping to improve on his third place finish last year.

“Roubaix is a little bit different [to Flanders]. It’s not quite so punchy,” he explained. “You have a cobbled section and it’s two, three, sometimes four kilometres long — it’s a long, sustained five-minute effort as opposed to the Paterberg which is 360 metres and super explosive.

“You look at a guy like Sagan who is a sprinter type it’s hard to match their power on a climb like that, Roubaix is different.”

Team Sky will go into the Tour of Flanders with their heads held high, says Luke Rowe, despite the team so far failing to deliver the goods in the Northern Classics.

The Welshman’s third place at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in February has so far been the team’s best result in the Classics, with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) walking away with much of the silverware.

>>> Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item. Ian Stannard: ‘I don’t think I deserve my hardman reputation. I just get on with my job’

Rowe says the Sky team, which this year features British neo pros Owain Doull and Jon Dibben in its Classics line-up, is riding better than its results suggest, and that it’s a lack of fortune rather than condition that has been at the heart of the current results drought.

“Last weekend, on a personal note, was really disappointing,” he conceded of his 15th place and DNF at E3 Harelbeke and Ghent-Wevelgem respectively.

“Wevelgem was a shocker of a day. I just had no legs. There’s a couple of days a year where you’re just empty and you’re useless and unfortunately last weekend was one of those days.

“Last weekend was just diabolical,” he added. “We’ve got to do better. There’s no excuses really - we have to up our game at Flanders and Roubaix and see what we can do.”

Rowe said that he and the team were ready to bounce back and fight hard for results over the next two weekends, saying there were plenty of positives to be taken from the last six weeks of racing.

“The most important thing is how your condition is at the moment, and despite the results not being there, the whole team is as a unit is riding well. If it could go our way a little bit, play out the way we want it to, we could deliver a result,” he said.

The Classics this year, Rowe added, had been raced more aggressively than he’d ever seen, largely due to strength of Sagan and Van Avermaet.

“Sagan showed how strong he was early on and to a certain extent Greg as well.

"People are trying to isolate them… people are trying to race earlier to get ahead,” he said — an observation echoed by his Sky directeur, former Paris-Roubaix winner Servais Knaven.

Watch: Tour of Flanders essential guide

“The guys saw a different way of racing in the last few races with [attacks] going early in Dwars Door Vlaanderen but also in E3,” said Knaven.

“They were a bit surprised by that; it was totally different to how a normal race would go.”

“I warned them, as soon as they go, you can’t hesitate. But the guys are in good shape. They ride well as a team. I think we have a really balanced team for Flanders. They will do a good race and I wouldn’t be surprised if they surprise some people.”

“You can’t go into these races with your head down,” concluded Rowe. “You’ve got to go in with your head held high — we’re optimistic and excited.”

Knaven admitted the fact that Sky aren't tipped as one of the favourites for the title in Flanders can be an advantage to them.

In the 2015 edition of the race with Geraint Thomas leading the squad they were one of the favourites, but despite the team doing much of the work on the front of the peloton the Welshman was marked out by another team and unable to follow the winning move led by Alexander Kristoff and Niki Terpstra.

“With Gianni [Moscon], Luke [Rowe] and Ian [Stannard] we have three really strong riders, none of them are the favourites for Sunday but for sure I expect them to play a role in the final,” he continued.

“Two years ago we were the favourites and we had to ride all day to the Kruisberg, then another team really had to help us. No one helped us and Kristoff and Terpstra were gone and we had our guys there but no helpers any more.

“You see this week every team says they’re the favourite, to take the pressure from their own team and also so they have to work, because of course that’s going to happen.

"There will be an early break and one team has to take control. We did that two years ago this year it will be another team.”

Welshman Luke Rowe is Team Sky’s Classics specialist and often the team’s road captain, and he writes exclusively each week for Cycling Weekly. He’s also a huge Cardiff Devils ice hockey fan

A good amount of the racing I’ve been doing lately has been in cold and wet weather, and a lot of people have been asking why I wear so few clothes when the weather is bad. The simple answer is we’re all different and I feel good when I’m wearing less.

I struggle to feel like I’m in a race when I am all rugged up. I especially hate racing with anything on my legs; if I’m going to wear leg-warmers it has to be pretty cold weather and I just feel like it’s a training ride if my legs are covered up. Anyways — with some good, bad-weather heating oil on the legs I stay warm enough and feel race-ready.

One story I always think of when the weather gets bad and I have cold hands is from the winter of 2010. I was on the British Cycling Academy programme and based up in Manchester all winter — needless to say we had some bloody bad weather.

>>> Luke Rowe column: That was the hardest Paris-Nice I’ve ever done

During a moment of madness a bet was made between Erick Rowsell and myself. The bet was simple: you were banned from wearing gloves and whoever cracked and wore gloves first gave the other £100. We had super-early morning rides to the velodrome at 6.30am, sometimes with rain and in zero degrees but we would still ride there gloveless.

There were tactics involved, however. I just simply didn’t take any gloves with me, ever, as that way I couldn’t lose. No matter how cold my hands got on our long five-hour rides I didn’t have any gloves to put on.

Erick, though, often put gloves in his pocket ‘just in case’, which in my eyes is even more hardcore as the temptation was there and he still resisted! Often we got home from rides and needed our room-mates to help us get our overshoes off, as we couldn’t feel a thing for a good half hour.

As we came to the end of the winter and had gotten through the worst of the weather we made a mutual agreement to start wearing gloves again as the racing season was approaching. He’s a tough one that Erick Rowsell!

So no matter how cold I get now training or racing I always think of that bet we made and remember how cold I was then — nothing can compare to that.