This time last year, Christophe Laporte was in something close to the form of his life. The Frenchman won Gent-Wevelgem after a two-up escape with teammate Wout van Aert, and he proceeded to add an emphatic victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen three days later.
Twelve months on, the mood music is rather different for Laporte. The illness that forced the European champion to abandon Milan-San Remo also kept him out of E3 Harelbeke on Friday, and he is all but certain to miss out on defending his Gent-Wevelgem title this weekend.
