Over the years, first at Lotto and then at BMC, Greg Van Avermaet has grown used to playing second fiddle to Philippe Gilbert, but the traditional hierarchy will be reversed in the Belgian team at the World Championships road race in Ponferrada on Sunday.

By his own admission, Gilbert has simply not done enough in the second part of the season to justify the leader’s role in Carlo Bomans’ squad. Van Avermaet, by contrast, arrives in Spain in what he has described as the form of his life. Strong performances in Canada earlier this month raised hopes; a brace of victories at the GP de Wallonie and GP Impanis last week has brought expectation.