text: Whether it is through Sir Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas or Ian Stannard, Ireland's classics king Sean Kelly believes the time has come for Team Sky to break their duck in one of cycling's Monuments. With the two major cobbled classics - the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix - looming large over the next two weekends, it is time to see the early results of Sir Dave Brailsford's move to put more emphasis on the Spring Classics in his second five-year plan for Team Sky. With Wiggins electing to sign off his Team Sky career with an appearance at Paris-Roubaix on April 12, the races are bound to be a big part of the team's season whatever the outcome. British Bradley Wiggins competes during the  the Gent-Wevelgem one day cycling race on March 29 . The shift in emphasis has already paid dividends in the early part of the season, with Stannard defending his title at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Team Sky's third victory in the Belgian race, while Thomas last week won E3 Harelbeke - a key warm-up for this weekend's Tour of Flanders. Kelly, whose record of nine Monument wins puts him in a tie for third all-time, likes what he sees from Team Sky as the big races approach. 'Right now they're looking really good,' Kelly said. 'They've been very impressive in the semi-classics. Can they finish it off by winning a big one?' Team Sky's focus on the Grand Tours up to now has left them short of riders equipped to win classics, while the usually chaotic nature of the races is anathema to their favoured controlling tactics. But the development of Stannard and Thomas gives Team Sky two in-house contenders, while Wiggins raised eyebrows with his ninth-placed finish in Paris-Roubaix last year and he vowed to return. Luke Rowe could also be another British option for the team. Ian Stannard (3rd from front) rides in the Gent-Wevelgem one-day cycling race on March 29 . Injuries to classics specialists Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory) and Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) - although the latter may return in time for Paris-Roubaix - add to the impression that Team Sky's best chance may be now. 'Without Cancellara, without Boonen, it's going to be a more open race,' said Kelly, who will commentate on both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix for Eurosport. 'There's going to be eight-10 guys saying they can win and Sky have three of them. Geraint is certainly in there, Stannard is maybe a little bit under his best after his crash (in the first Monument, Milan-San Remo on March 22) but can come back, and then of course there is Wiggins.' Of the three, Wiggins is yet to show the sort of form this season which suggests he can win Paris-Roubaix, but Kelly is not counting the 2012 Tour de France winner out, saying a Monument win to add to his Tour and world time trial success would elevate Wiggins to 'another level'. 'If you look at the way he's performing at the moment, for me, it's not as good as I would like him to be in the recent races, but you can't go to Paris-Roubaix with only one card to play,' Kelly said. Geraint Thomas celebrates placing third in the Belgian cycling classic Ghent-Wevelgem . 'With Thomas and Stannard as well, you play all of those cards and the rest look after them. If you can get to the final 10-12km and Wiggins is still there, that is where he can go on the attack.' To get to that point, Team Sky will need to be in survival mode in a usually attritional race known as 'the Hell of the North'. The brutal cobbled stretches, which require huge amounts of effort while increasing the chances of crashes and mechanical problems, create a nervousness in the peloton which makes planning all but impossible. Although Kelly never won the Tour of Flanders, finishing second in 1984, he was victorious in Paris-Roubaix twice, 1984 and 1986, and said the fear of the cobbles is something that never really left him. 'When I first went there I had a horrendous time - I was very nervous on the cobbles and I wasn't able to ride them well,' he said. 'I slowly developed and I was able to manage to ride them, but even when I got to the point of being a Paris-Roubaix favourite it's still very nervous times. 'It's a horrible race to ride, but a great race to win.'
target: Team Sky have never won one of cycling's five Monument races .
  The Tour of Flanders takes place next weekend with Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas contenders fro Team Sky .
  Sean Kelly has backed them to finally break their duck .