With last year’s third-place finisher Simon Gerrans not in full form, Michael Matthews will have the full backing of Orica-GreenEdge at this weekend’s Amstel Gold. Matthews has thus far backed up his impressive 2014 campaign with two victories this year along with his first Monument podium at Milan-San Remo – finishing third behind John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha).
The Australian is looking to add to that run with another trip to the podium on Sunday, and if he can make it the top step then that would be the cherry on the cake. “A podium would be really nice, that’s our goal for the day. Not sure what position yet but the podium is the goal,” Matthews told Cyclingnews. “It’s better to go into the race aiming for the podium and if you top that with the win then it makes it even better.”
Matthews has gone back to the drawing board this season when planning out his programme, beginning his year later than ever at Paris-Nice and only riding four races in the lead-up to the Ardennes. He also made changes to his winter, opting to stay in Europe for the whole winter to ensure that he was acclimatised to the conditions.
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The changes have paid dividends so far and Matthews has been readily reeled out when the inevitable question of favourites for Amstel comes up. He proved at Milan-San Remo that he still has the legs to sprint after a tough race but with 34 climbs to contend, conserving energy will be key. “It’s quite challenging, it’s really demanding all day. It’s just basically trying to save whatever legs you have for the final time up the Cauberg, which is where the action goes down,” Matthews said.
As arguably the fastest man in the Amstel line-up, if he can hang onto his rivals than he’s a shoe-in for victory but that is easier said than done. “If they try to race against me that’s for them but there are a lot of guys that could do a really good race tomorrow so it’s not just me that everyone will be looking at. It’s going to be a bit of a gamble as to who follows who or who attacks when. The timing of the attack is going to be quite crucial I think.”
For only the second time in his career, Matthews will also be riding Flèche Wallonne next Wednesday. His previous appearance came in 2013 and he came home over eight minutes behind the race winner Daniel Moreno. Matthews won’t be targeting the victory at Flèche but, instead, riding in support of his teammate Michael Albasini. The main drive behind his decision to return to the race was his desire to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France in July.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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