Jayco AlUla and Michael Matthews will start the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday to win the race, that much is clear. The Australian-Saudi formation has Bling, one of the shadow favorites for the race in South Limburg, who also happens to see his dream race in the Amstel. He had his first date there with his wife.
Shift leader on duty is former rider Pieter Weening. ‘Michael is our leader, that’s clear. He is in very good shape and has managed to finish the cobbled classics with a good level of form, so we are organizing our team completely around him.’ Matthews, after previously finishing second in Milan-San Remo, finished third in the Tour of Flanders, but was dropped to eleventh place due to a move in the sprint.
Last Wednesday he won the sprint from the peloton on proverbially one leg in the Brabantse Pijl, after missing the right move in the final. ‘We know that positioning will again be important here. The Amstel Gold Race is a difficult race, where you have to be at the front at all kinds of crucial points. It is therefore very important that you field the right riders who can bear that responsibility. This way we can keep Michael out of trouble, which is the only goal of our servants.’
For that work, Jayco AlUla is bringing along Jan Maas, Luke Durbridge and Lawson Craddock, among others: experienced men who know the tricks of the trade. Afterwards it is up to the leader. ‘The entire course covers an area of thirty kilometers, with many climbs. So it will be a grueling day, where we will fully focus on getting Matthews into position,” Weening concludes.
Selection Jayco AlUla Amstel Gold Race 2024
Michael Matthews
Lawson Craddock
Felix Engelhardt
Mauro Schmid
Luke Durbridge
Anders Foldager
Jan Maas
