After a bright Classics season so far, Team Jayco AlUla understandably take to the Amstel Gold Race startline with full faith in their leader, Michael Matthews.
“Michael Matthews will be our leader. He’s in really good shape and he finished off his cobbled classics campaign in really good shape and with the team we’re going to fully focus on him," says Pieter Weening Sport Director. "We also know that it is always a hard race and it’s always about positioning so getting into the right place before crucial points is the most important task for the other riders and getting Matthews into the right position. That’s the only goal the other riders have, positioning him and keeping him out of trouble."
"The whole parcours is situated in 30 square kilometres so there are a lot of climbs that we will do two or three times. I think in total it’s like 33 climbs and it will be a hard and taxing day," Weening concludes. "For us, the focus is on Matthews, delivering him into position in crucial points.”
One of those tasked with supporting Matthews will be Lawson Craddock. "We’re going in with Michael Matthews and he’s been on a tear lately with some of the big results that he’s got," Craddock says. "There’s a lot of confidence in him knowing that he can deliver a good ride for us. I think we’ll just aim to be proactive all day and make it our ride instead of trying to race someone else’s race.”
Team Jayco AlUla for Amstel Gold Race 2024:
Michael Matthews, Lawson Craddock, Luke Durbridge, Anders Foldager, Felix Engelhardt, Mauro Schmid and Jan Maas.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🚴 RACE PREVIEW 📙 Team Jayco AlUla goes all-in with Michael Matthews at Amstel Gold Race 💬 "We’ll aim to be proactive all day and make it our race instead of trying to ride someone else’s race.” 🇳🇱 #AGR24
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