Michael Matthews will look to make a winning return to French soil this coming weekend at the GP Ouest France-Plouay in his second race since winning stage 10 at the Tour de France in July. Matthews won't be the only card that Orica-BikeExchange can play on the lumpy WorldTour one-day course with Michael Albasini, Daryl Impey and Luka Mezgec capable of recording a result for the Australian team.
"With the new course it will probably be a bit more aggressive earlier on," said sports director Matt White of the 50th edition of the race. "It's usually quite a predictable race when it's been on the circuits, I expect it will be a really hard aggressive race this year."
"In the past a move usually goes on the final climb but usually gets brought back in the final few seconds. There's not been too many times were a move has stayed away to the line and I still think the race will be decided in the final 20 minutes."
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Paris-Roubaix winner Mat Hayman captains the squad with Luke Durbridge adding strength to the roster while Spanish duo Ruben Plaza and Carlos Verona add climbing talent.
"We will have multiple options in the final," added White. "If it gets aggressive in the last hour we have guys like Impey, Albasini and Durbridge to go in to moves and if it comes down to the final circuit we have fast men like Matthews and Luka Mezgec."
The race has been won by classics riders Alexander Kristoff, Sylvain Chavanel, Filippo Pozzato, Edvald Boasson Hagen, and Australian duo Matt Goss and Simon Gerrans in recent years. With a stacked field set to contest the French race, White expects a deserving winner after 247km of racing.
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