Senior sports director Scott Sunderland was delighted to see Greg Henderson take his first stage victory of the season at Paris-Nice and is hoping for similar results when he takes charge of a separate team at the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Henderson put a recent bout of illness firmly behind him in France and triumphed with a storming sprint display into a biting headwind.

Sunderland is hopeful that result will boost the New Zealander's confidence for the weeks ahead and he has been really encouraged by the way Henderson has settled into life with Team Sky.

He said: "When I spoke to Greg at the beginning of the week he said to me 'I'm not sure if I'm 100% ready', because he'd been sick and was in two minds about even taking part in the race.

"But I told him just to relax and have confidence in himself. There was no pressure on him for the time trial, and no pressure for the first stage.

"I thought he'd surprise himself with how good he felt when he was out on the bike, and that proved to be the case. He came out and did brilliantly.

"At Columbia, Greg's role was usually helping out the other guys, but with us I think he's got that challenge of stepping up to being a leader.

"Now he's really proving himself as a major sprinter within this team and is showing the others he can mix it with the best of them. All he needs now is confidence as he's a good bike rider.

"He feels at home here and gets on well with the other riders in the team, that's very important for him. He feels appreciated for what he does and that means he goes that extra yard."

Ideal preparation

While Paris-Nice is more suited to members of the squad who are targeting the Ardennes classics in mid-April, Tirreno-Adriatico is ideal preparation for those guys who fancy their chances on the cobbled classics.

Sunderland has scoured every inch of the course in Italy and is expecting a testing week of riding.

"There's no time trial, which is good news for some and bad for others, but it's certainly a tough route," he added.

"A lot of the stages have finishing circuits with small, steep climbs, which is typical of Italian races.

"The Paris-Nice is better suited to the guys who are targeting the Ardennes races as there are a couple of long climbs of around 7-8km, especially on that last day. Here they are closer to 3-4km.

"By splitting the team as we have done it allows both teams to concentrate on their own specific areas of riding and to also allows them to gel together.

"Most of the riders we've chosen to come here will be taking part in the cobbled classics and the types of stages we have here in Italy are good for them.

"They've thrown in a couple of really long days as well though that will hopefully bode pretty well for Thomas Löfkvist, who will be our protected GC rider.

"Our aim for the week is to prepare for the races ahead, but we're not going to let any opportunities pass us by if they come our way. We'll take them with both hands."

Arvesen raring to go

One of the riders who will be making his return at Tirreno-Adriatico is Kurt-Asle Arvesen.

The 35-year-old broke his collarbone on stage two of the Tour of Qatar but has spent the time since then working tirelessly to get himself back up to speed.

Sunderland has been monitoring his progress closely and has does not believe the injury will cause him any undue problems in the week ahead.

"Kurt is doing well and appears to be in good shape. He's obviously not at 100% right now and he'll be using the week to assess just how strong he is. He has an awful lot of experience though and I have total faith in him if he says he's OK.

"You don't achieve what he has done in his career without knowing what you can and can't do.

"His shoulder is comfortable and he's not feeling any pain. The doctor has said there's no risk at all and it's really strong. Even if he does fall again this week it'll be no worse than if he was to fall three months down the line."

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The Tirreno-Adriatico gets underway on Wednesday and every stage is being screened on Eurosport.