I could see Bird being around last year's spring level. But I think there's several guys who can be that level or beat it in specific races. I heavily favor Roglic over him in races like FW and Emilia, while I still think I favor 2017 Nibali in one day races with bigger climbs like Il Lombardia. I'll give it to him on AGR and SB though. That's a mix I don't really fancy many riders for.
As for this year's SB, he was actually there so it was good but not the Bird of last year probably. Also riding SB probably didn't help in Poland if you see how a guy like Alaphilippe imploded in the Dauphine after SB +MSR.
As for this year's SB, he was actually there so it was good but not the Bird of last year probably. Also riding SB probably didn't help in Poland if you see how a guy like Alaphilippe imploded in the Dauphine after SB +MSR.