I'm just about to pack my bags and head for Paris-Nice. It's the third time that I've done it, which means I know what it's like - for sprinters, very difficult.

Still, there's a prologue and I'm up for that, and on top of that there's two good early stages for the fast guys.  After that the racing gets a little bit more tricky as we hit the mountains.

I'm in great form, too, coming off [the Tour of] California in exactly the kind of shape I want for this time of year.

So what's the worst thing about Paris-Nice for me? The weather, for sure. I always struggle with it at this time of year. Three weeks ago I was in  beautiful sunshine in Australia and really warm weather. Now it's just the opposite - rain and cold.

Still, I can't complain about the quality of the lead-outs I should be getting there in Paris-Nice. It's going to be the team's German connection this time round - Tony Martin, Marcus Burghardt. Both of them are really fast guys themselves and know what to do in the final kilometres.

The thing is, though, Paris-Nice is always a very tense race. You can get splits in the cross-winds early on that decide it overall -  just like that. I remember a few years ago how CSC just tore it all up for everybody, formed an echelon, and their entire team rode off the front with about three other guys. So you've got to keep your wits about you.

That last stage into Nice is probably the toughest of all them, though. I know the Col D'Eze climb, which we go up, really well because I live in the area, and after the other climbing that day it's going to be a very hard finish. Hopefully, my girlfriend will be there in Nice to welcome me home, which will be good.

But I want to finish Paris-Nice for several reasons, one being that I want to get some more form for the Classics. After Paris-Nice I'm doing Milan-San Remo, De Panne, Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and the Scheldeprijs, working for Mark [Cavendish] in all of them bar Flanders. You can't be out of shape for those races.