Mitchelton-Scott targets Australian National Championships in debut

Mitchelton-Scott's first objective for the 2018 season is to take the victory at the Australian National Championships

The championships start on the 3rd of January with the criterium, continues on the 5th with the Time Trials and finishes on the 7th with the road races.

Caleb Ewan will come back to the criterium to try to get his third title in a row, something that has never happened before. "I’m definitely going into the criterium to try to defend my title. We should have a really good team there so I think we have a pretty good chance," the rider said.

Ewan will have the company of Luke Durbridge, Alex Edmondson, Lucas Hamilton and Cameron Meyer.

Durbridge will be the only man on the team in the time trial championships but knows what it takes to win the title as he already did so in 2012 and 2013. "The national time trial has always been a special race for me, winning it on two previous occasions. The course has been similar for a few years now so you understand what it entails – it’s a hard course on a rolling terrain, you have to save some energy for the way back as it’s more difficult," he commented.

On the road race, Durbridge will start along with Ewan, Edmondson, Hamilton, Meyer, Mathew Hayman, Michael Hepburn, Damien Howson and Robert Power. "This year will offer a different dynamic for the road race given BMC Racing’s numbers and quality. I still think the race will play around what we do, but they have massive cards to play," explained Sport Director Matt Wilson.

"As always if an early break went with the right composition it could win, but with two strong teams to control it adds a different element. It’s one of those races that is always a bit of a gamble, but one we’d always love to win."

Mitchelton-Scott targets Australian National Championships in debut