Australian rider believes he can fight for Classic victories
Australia’s aspiring ProTeam GreenEdge has made it clear that Matt Goss is on its wish-list of riders, with team manager Shayne Bannan confirming he is interested in bringing him on board.
Goss won a stage of Paris-Nice this week, and has taken three other important victories thus far in 2011. He won the Cancer Council Classic and stage one of the Tour Down Under in January, also picking up the points classification, then won stage two of the Tour of Oman.
He’s clearly developing as a rider, and Bannan said that his value is growing with each success. “It is increasing by the race. I expect we’ll see ‘Gossy’ on the podium quite a few times this year,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald, saying that the team will chase him.
“’It’s a competitive market and we are prepared. We are serious contenders and we are prepared to get the riders at market value. That’s what the game is.”
Bannan said that Goss’ contract ended prior to next season and that the team would have discussions with him when the time was right to do so.
Goss is seen as a rider who is more than just a sprinter. In the past, many who have been rapid early on in their careers have been able to develop themselves and target major one day events. Riders such as Sean Kelly, Eric Vanderaerden, Mario Cipollini, Johann Museeuw, Tom Boonen and Thor Hushovd are just some examples of those who won stages in big races early on, then developed into strong Classics riders.
Goss believes that he too can chase top results in races such as Milan-Sanremo. “[Going from] 220km to 250km is a different race, and from 250km to 300km you’ve got to be on top of your game,” he told the Herald, explaining the challenges. “A Classic is a lot different to any 200km-230km stage or road race. I don’t lose too much top-end speed at the end of a race. I have won races over these distances. If I am in good form, that kind of distance is not such a bad thing for me.”
HTC Highroad team-mate Mark Cavendish is likely to be the team’s protected rider for Milan-Sanremo, a race he won in 2009. However Goss’s good form means that he will be a possible plan B for the team if Cavendish doesn’t have the form to stay in contact.