ORICA-GreenEDGE line up at the UCI category 1.1 Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday with the sole aim of achieving a result in the Flemish one-day classic.

Multiple grand tour stage winner Michael Matthews will be looking to be up there in the finale and will have the full support of the team before heading to the Amstel Gold Race the following Sunday. Matthews was second in the 2015 race behind winner Ben Hermans (BMC).

Sport director Laurenzo Lapage is confident of the team’s chances in the 205.3kilometre Europe Tour race.

“Branbanste used to be held before the Tour of Flanders,” explained Lapage. “Since 2010 it's been held before Amstel Gold and used as preparation for the Ardennes classics, which is exactly what we will be doing.

“Michael (Matthews) will be our leader and we have a strong team around him. It is really good to have our road captain Mathew (Hayman) back in the team for this race, his experience will be important, especially for the younger guys.

“Jack (Haig) came through his first Ronde Van Vlaanderen really well and I’m looking forward to seeing how Cheung (King-Lok) performs here in Northern Europe.”

Former under-23 world time trial champion Damien Howson has recovered from a bout of flu and will complete the line up with Daryl Impey and Jens Keukeleire.

Impey and Keukeleire will be the fast men remaining with Matthews until the very end of the race. Keukeleire is coming into the team after a solid bock of racing in Belgium and Northern France and his form will be well appreciated by the squad.

Brabanste Pijl translates to ‘Brabant Arrow’ in English and takes place on Wednesday the 13th of April at 12:30pm CEST (8:30pm AEST).

ORICA-GreenEDGE at Brabantse Pijl/La Fleche Brabanconne (Weds 13 April):

Jack Haig (AUS, VIC, 22)
Mathew Hayman (AUS, NSW, 37)
Damien Howson (AUS, SA, 23)
Daryl Impey (RSA, 30)
Jens Keukeleire (BEL, 27)
Cheung King Lok (CHN, 25)
Michael Matthews (AUS, ACT, 25)