Michael Matthews leads Jayco-AlUla squad for Giro d'Italia
Australian returns to race after three years away, while Dunbar leads GC hopes
Three years after last taking on the Giro d'Italia, Australian sprinter Michael Matthews is back, spearheading the Jayco-AlUla lineup at La Corsa Rosa.
The 32-year-old will be on the lookout for stage wins at the Grand Tour, while new signing Eddie Dunbar leads the team's general classification ambitions after a ninth-place finish at the recent Tour de Romandie.
Matthews has started in the Giro three times in the past, winning in the maglia rosa at Montecassino in 2014 and Sestri Levante in 2015 after the Australian team triumphed in the opening team time trials. He also started the pandemic-delayed 2020 Giro, while racing with Team Sunweb, but was forced to withdraw after nine stages following a positive COVID-19 test.
"Three years have already passed since the last time I raced the Giro and so I am very happy to return to a race that has given me a lot of satisfaction in the past, having won stages and worn the pink jersey back in 2014 and 2015. The Giro d'Italia is of course a huge race for us and it is always great lining up at such a prestigious event," Matthews said.
Matthews has yet to taste victory this season, though he has taken to the podium at the Australian National Championships and on a stage of the Tour Down Under. He also won the points classification at the latter.
His spring campaign was thrown off track by a COVID-19 positive on the eve of Milan-San Remo. A month after his last racing appointment at the Tour of Flanders, he returned to racing at Monday's Eschborn-Frankfurt in preparation for the Giro.
"I am eager to get back to racing," he said. "I have had a bit of a rollercoaster of a season so far after a crash at the Tour of Flanders and having to recover from that and also being forced to stop for a while due to COVID. Now I am feeling good and like everything is back on track.
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"This year's course is very demanding, but there will be some good opportunities for me for stage victories and we have a well-balanced and experienced team. It is really motivating to have a slightly different calendar this year and to return to this great Grand Tour."
In Dunbar, who moved to Jayco-AlUla over the winter after a four-year spell at Ineos Grenadiers, the team possess a potential candidate for the top 10 in Rome. The Irishman hasn't raced a Grand Tour since making his debut at the Giro back in 2019.
The 26-year-old finished 22nd four years ago and looks in good form heading to the Grande Partenza, climbing among the strongest riders in the race on the summit finish of Thyon 2000 at Romandie.
In addition to Matthews and Dunbar, Jayco bring along Italian breakaway specialist Alessandro De Marchi, Italian national champion Filippo Zana, and 2017 opening stage winner Lukas Pöstlberger. Michael Hepburn, Callum Scotson, and debutant Campbell Stewart to complete the team's lineup.
"As always, we are very motivated to head to Italy for the Giro d'Italia," said team directeur sportif David McPartland. "We have had a lot of success at the Giro over the years and we are planning for more again in this year's edition.
"It's a course that has everything, lots of time trial kilometres, both flat & mountainous, then some flat road stages, many intermediate stages that can go either way, long hard mountain top finishes in the Dolomites and a spectacular last stage in Rome to wrap it up.
"We are bringing a rounded squad spearheaded by Matthews who will be supported by experienced riders. The squad is completed by the two young riders in Stewart and Zana and finally by Dunbar who will be at the Giro for the mountain stages and our general classification ambitions."
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.