Caleb Ewan has been ruled out of Milan-San Remo in the wake of the illness that forced him to abandon Tirreno-Adriatico last weekend. Michael Matthews will lead the line for Jayco-Alula on Saturday in Ewan’s absence, while Luke Plapp makes his Monument debut.
Ewan has been a consistent performer at Milan-San Remo over the years, winning the sprint for second place on the Via Roma in both 2018 and 2021. On rejoining Jayco-Alula from Lotto-Dstny in the winter, he had pointed to Milan-San Remo as the main objective of his early season.
The 29-year-old got his season off to a winning start at the Australian Criterium Championships, though he was later affected by illness at the Tour Down Under. Ewan notched up a sprint win at the Tour of Oman, but he abandoned Tirreno-Adriatico on the penultimate day with stomach problems.
In the absence of Ewan, Jayco-Alula’s strategy will be built squarely around Matthews, who is a perennial challenger at this race. Matthews finished third in both 2015 and 2020, and he placed fourth on his last appearance in 2022, when he decried the influence of in-race motorbikes on the finale.
“I’m really looking forward to going back to Milano-San Remo, I missed it last year due to Covid, but it’s one of my favourite races of the season and definitely the most beautiful of the year in my opinion,” Matthews said in a statement released by Jayco-Alula.
“Unfortunately, I got sick in Paris-Nice so had to abandon, but I’ve had some time to recover now and I’ve got some good training in this week, so I’m ready to go.”
Matthews is joined in the team by the Australian champion Plapp, who impressed at Paris-Nice, placing sixth overall after spending two days in the yellow jersey.
There is plenty of experience in the Jayco-Alula squad, with Alessandro De Marchi, Luke Durbridge, Lucas Hamilton, Michael Hepburn and Davide De Pretto completing the line-up.
“The first Monument of the year his here and with Michael Matthews we will be aiming to be gunning for the win when the race swings onto the famous Via Roma,” said director sportif Mathew Hayman.
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