Wheel power: Cadel Evans heads big Australian contingent in Giro d’Italia

WHEN the Giro d’Italia field assembles in Belfast, there will be 11 Aussies on the start line — all with contrasting objectives.

Cadel Evans struggles uphill during a time trial at the 2010 Giro d'Italia.

WHEN the Giro d’Italia field assembles in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter on Friday night Australian time, there will be 11 Aussies on the start line — all with contrasting objectives.

Cadel Evans is the nation’s sole general classification contender, determined — at 37 — to become the race’s oldest winner.

Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), Nathan Haas (Garmin), Chris Sutton (Sky) and David Tanner (Belkin) will double up in opportunist-support roles while Orica-GreenEDGE has rostered six Australians to chase the leader’s Maglia Rosa jersey.

Brett Lancaster, Cameron Meyer, Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn, Mitch Docker, Michael Matthews will join forces with Svein Tuft, Pieter Weening and Ivan Santaromita in tonight’s 21km team time trial through the grey streets of Northern Ireland.

Underlining Australia’s ever growing reputation for nurturing world-class riders, Orica-GreenEDGE is favourite to claim the opening stage after excellent team time trial displays over the past two years.

If the Victorian-owned team prevails against 21 rivals it will to similarly lofty accomplishments at the Tour de France and world titles.

And it would set the platform for Italy’s Santaromita and Canberra’s hugely talented Matthews to joust for stage wins in what is invariably the nastiest and most testing of the three grand tours.

Third in last season’s edition, Evans is ranked behind only Movistar’s Nairo Quintana ($1.85) and Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez ($3.50) at $8 with TAB.

The 2011 Tour de France champion, Evans showed he was back in strong form with victory in the Giro del Trentino.

Evans wears the overall leader’s pink jersey after the 2nd stage of the 2010 Giro.

But the Giro is a vastly different beast, bristling with malevolence — there are 21 stages spread over 3445km — and containing some of the most brutal climbs, including the sadistic Monte Zoncolan on stage 20.

If Evans to deliver a telling response to those who believe his best days are gone, he will have to defy history. Fiorenzo Magni, who was 34 when he won in 1954, is the race’s oldest winner.

Not that Evans dwell on statistics.

Armed with a hand-picked BMC squad he describes as “the best ever”, Evans is highly motivated to prove his troubled 39th in last season’s Tour de France was an injury-induced aberration.

“It’s pleasing to have performed well, but most of all I was impressed by the team’s performance,” Evans said after Trentino.

“The TTT (team time trials) was good, but the three following stages indicated improvement by everyone each day ... a very nice race and team cohesion to get results is what makes pro racing so satisfying.”

As all grand tour marathons, the trick is to stay healthy and in contention into the final week.

Evans was beaten by almost six minutes last year by Vincenzo Nibali, who won’t defend the title after deciding to target July’s Tour.

Even with Nibali absent, Quintana, Rodriguez and Omega Pharma Quick Step’s Rigoberto Uran, runner-up in 2013, are formidable obstacles.

Quintana matched Chris Froome on the toughest Tour climbs last year, Rodriguez has scaled the podium on all three grand tours and Uran is an Olympic silver medallist with a penchant for solo breakaways in the steepest terrain.

The Giro field last year with Italy's's Vincenzo Nibali, centre, wearing the pink jersey.

For all that, Evans is no doubt about BMC’s expectations.

“It is an amazing team, a strong team,” team director Fabio Baldato said. “Coming from our success at Trentino, a race which brought us a lot of confidence and motivation, I know the shape is there and the team can work well around Cadel.”

“For sure, the last week will be pivotal,.

“Cadel has seen most of the route and most of the roads of the time trials, or he knows them from last year or past Giros. So we will be confident from the start that we can do a good team time trial for Cadel and for the morale of the team.”

Hansen, 32, continues to build a remarkable record, having finished the past seven grand tours — feat of astonishing endurance and bravery.

The Queenslander excels in breakaway situations and, with Haas, Sutton, Tanner and Meyer, gives Australia multiple options for stage wins.

“Cam (Meyer) can win a stage,” OGE director Matt White said. “He is a very versatile rider who we are happy to see in the break on any given day. We have seen this aggressive style in the past with him and I expect to see the same rider that we saw at the Vuelta two years ago.”

With Italian star Alessandro Petacchi, 40, returning in search of a 23rd stage victory, Matthews has the chance to impact in the absence of Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel.

Winner of two stages on the Tour of Spain last season and key victories in Basque Country and Rioja this season, the young springer is making stunning headway.

“Michael will be targeting a lot of the stages in the first two weeks of the race” White said.

“He’s going to face some stiff competition, but we’re confident that he will really benefit from this experience. With the teams support, he’s up for the challenge.”