Gianni Moscon looking beyond Classics to Giro d'Italia after difficult season start

Team Sky's Gianni Moscon says there isn't "only the Classics" in what is a "long season," having had a difficult start to 2019.

Moscon pulled out of the Tirreno-Adriatico and skipped Milan-San Remo last weekend having suffered and been off his best after two crashes in the UAE Tour in February.

He returned for the E3 BinckBank Classic on Friday and Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday. Already next week he will need to be at top fitness if he wants to have a chance in the Tour of Flanders and a week later, Paris-Roubaix.

"Is there time to recover? Who knows," Moscon told Cycling Weekly.

"I will try for sure to do everything perfectly to try to be as good as possible for Flanders and Roubaix but the time is short and we can't say what's' possible but the season is long, we don't only have the Classics. Sooner or later, I'll be good, I think."

The Italian, who lives in Innsbruck, went back home and recovered. The season for him also includes leading the team, which will be known as Team Ineos as of May 1, in the Giro d'Italia.

"I also have the Giro in mind," he added. "I'll try to build up my condition and look towards the Giro. I'm not panicking if I'm not good in the Classics because the season is long, I hope that I'll be good for the Giro, for sure."

The new Ineos team will race with Colombian Egan Bernal as their leader for the overall one year after Chris Froome won the Giro d'Italia. Moscon, for the first time in his home tour, will provide a second option.

"It's nice to be back racing, I'm testing myself day by day and trying to improve my condition and looking forward to the next races. It's day by day and no stress to see what I can do," Moscon said.

"I hurt myself a little everywhere. I crashed twice in the UAE Tour, but the second one was the worst. Now everything seems OK but we'll see how it goes.

"I didn't feel great after the UAE, I didn't recover properly. Staying in Tirreno-Adriatico was probably too much I'd stress my body too much and I needed to recover my body properly before racing again. I went home and now I feel better."

Moscon quit on stage two of the Tirreno-Adriatico, while Geraint Thomas, feeling sick, also abandoned on stage four. He had to reset, missing a chance in Milan-San Remo so the he could slot into Sky's cobbled team. The team includes Luke Rowe, Owain Doull, Ian Stannard and Dylan Van Baarle.

"It was a difficult day on Friday for us [in E3] and for everyone, the pace was super high and when you miss that five per cent you can't be at the front anymore. We have other days ahead of us. We have a good team, even if we are not the favourites for the race," Moscon explained.

"Is there anyway to beat Deceuninck-Quick Step? Who knows. They show that they are strong everywhere. They are the team to beat, everyone knows they are strong, but never say never."