Despite being Tinkoff-Saxo’s sole representation in the Australian Road Race after Michael Rogers was pulled out due to heart problems, Jay McCarthy is hopeful he can win the race.

"Hopefully I am in good enough shape and make some good decisions out there on the day and I can follow the right guys and watch Gerro, Richie, Rohan Dennis and those guys who can light it up on the last few laps and hopefully I am feeling good enough to go with them," McCarthy told Cyclingnews of his approach to the 183km race.

McCarthy also hopes to have his full team support him at the Tour Down Under, which is a week and a half away.

"I'll head over there [Adelaide] and meet up with them and see what the plans are for Tour Down Under but hopefully I’ll go in there with the chance to have a go for myself and have the team to support me. I am looking forward to having a good race there also," he said.

"Of course Tour Down Under and being in Australia, being with the team in the last few years there hasn’t been such an emphasis on me going so well at the start of the year and taking it a bit slower to begin with, but now I have a few seasons under my belt I think its time that I can have a go here and at Tour Down Under and then the way the team has designed my programme, I’ll have a few weeks when I get back to Europe before I start racing over there."