With two stage wins at Paris-Nice last week, Michael Matthews will start Saturday's Milan-San Remo as one of the favourites for the first monument of the season. The 25-year-old Orica-GreenEdge rider was third in last year's edition and will start the race full of confidence he can become the third Australian to win La Primavera.
"I'm looking forward to the race, I hope I can be up there at the finish," said Matthews, who also wore the Paris-Nice leader's jersey for six days and won the points classification. "If we can get in a good position on the climbs and maintain it, then anything can happen."
Orica-GreenEdge won the race in 2012 with Simon Gerrans and will start a strong team with the ambition of adding a second win to its trophy cabinet.
"The team we have assembled for the weekend has had good preparation for the period of racing that we are heading into," said sports director Matt White. "Milan-San Remo is a race where a lot can happen in the last 30 minutes. The key moments will be the lead into the Cipressa climb, followed by the descent of the Poggio."
"This race has a big place in the history of the team after Simon (Gerrans) won here in 2012. We will definitely be looking to continue in that vein at the weekend."
The team contains a mix of riders from the Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico squads with Michael Albasini, Daryl Impey, Sam Bewley and Simon Yates heading to Italy, while Chris Juul Jensen, Jens Keukeleire and Luka Mezgec travel north to Milan.
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Cyclingnews will have live coverage of the 291km race, which starts in Milan's Piazza del Duomo and finishes on the Via Roma, along with a full race report, results, photos and news.
Orica-GreenEdge for Milan-San Remo: Michael Albasini, Sam Bewley, Daryl Impey, Chris Juul-Jensen, Jens Keukeleire, Michael Matthews, Luka Mezgec and Simon Yates.
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