BMC Racing Team is set to open the 2016 WorldTour season at the Santos Tour Down Under this weekend in Adelaide, Australia.

The seven-rider roster, including the 2015 winner Rohan Dennis and runner-up Richie Porte, will kick things off with the People’s Choice Classic criterium on Sunday night.

Dennis and Porte are joined by Marcus Burghardt, Alessandro De Marchi, Floris Gerts, Peter Velits and Danilo Wyss.

The team will enjoy a rest day on Monday before the six-stage race officially starts on Tuesday with a 130.8 kilometre course from Prospect to Lyndoch.

“We’ve got a lot to live up to. The last couple of years we’ve placed well. Cadel Evans was on the podium for the last two races and last year Rohan Dennis won the race ahead of Richie Porte. Now they’re both in the same team, Dennis and Porte, and it’s their major home race so they’re both very motivated for it.”

Dennis is confident going in as defending champion after his victory in the Individual Time Trial at the Australian Road Cycling Championships last week.

“I’m only going to feel the pressure that I put on myself, and that I want to win again and try and make history. We’ve got a good team. Nationals showed that I’m going well. I know all of these roads pretty well. I’ve trained on them since I was a junior, since I started riding so that sort of advantage is there. But local knowledge is not going to get me across the line first.”

For Porte, the Santos Tour Down Under will be his WorldTour debut in BMC Racing Team kit.

“The Tour Down Under is the best race of the season apart from the Tour de France. My form is not going to be as good as it was in 2015 but with Rohan and I there and the rest of the team, it’s going to be a good race.”