Simon Gerrans may have abandoned the Tour de France prematurely but Orica-GreenEDGE remain hopeful that their classics star can feature prominently on the new, harder Clasica San Sebastian course. The Australian champion will be supported by the in-form Yates brothers Adam and Simon.

ORICA-GreenEDGE has announced a strong line up for the 34th edition of the Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian this Saturday.

The eight-man roster includes recent GP Industria and Artigianato winner Adam Yates and a trio of riders fully recovered from early Tour de France departures. 

The eight riders for Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian are: Adam Yates, Damien Howson, Jens Keukeleire, Jens Mouris, Mathew Hayman, Michael Albasini, Simon Gerrans and Simon Yates.

Sport director Neil Stephens said the team expects to be competitive in the final and has the history to demonstrate it.

“Even though it’s a demanding race, it’s a race that we have done well in in the past,” Stephens said. 

“Maybe not so much last year but certainly the year before where Simon Gerrans wrapped up the sprint for second place behind (Luis León) Sánchez.

“That’s a mark that says we have done the race well in the past and we expect to do well in the future.”

Stephens is confident that the selected roster has the firepower to tackle the challenging 219km race.

“There has been a slight modification in the race route and it’s going to be a little bit more demanding towards the finish of the race,” Stephens said.

“But I tend to think the roster we have coming into the race is going to be well adapted to that change.

“The top of the last climb is at 7km to go, there is a 4km descent and 3km of flat to the finish so it is going to make the finish really challenging.”

As the first UCI WorldTour event since the Tour de France, early withdrawals from the Tour play into the hands of some riders for this weekend’s race.

“If you look at the history of the Classic San Sebastian, there are a lot of guys that do a couple of weeks of the Tour de France then pull out for whatever reason and they bounce back well to do San Sebastian,” Stephens said.

“I’m certainly hoping that is the case with us.

“We have got the guys coming a little earlier this week and they are going to have a look at the circuit. 

“I still think that if Simon Gerrans is on the money he is going to be not far off it but certainly the Yates boys are showing some great form, they are great bike riders and they will be there to give Simon some great support towards the final.”