British cyclist Mark Cavendish is out to repeat his 2009 performance by winning the Milan-San Remo today.

Cavendish beat Heinrich Haussler in a group sprint finish two years ago and will lead HTC-Highroad alongside Matt Goss in the 298-kilometre race, the first classic of the season.

“Mark has already won this race and he’ll be our leader,” HTC-Highroad sports director Valerio Piva said. “He’s motivated and physically he is in pretty much the same condition as when he won it in 2009.

“We also have Matt Goss, who has already won eight races this year, and we have a good support team around them both. Of course, if it comes down to a bunch sprint in San Remo and Mark is there, then we’ll be working all out for him.”

Cavendish finished outside the top 10 of the recently finished Tirreno-Adriatico, while Goss prepared for the race in the Paris-Nice.

“The important thing was to finish Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice in top condition and that’s definitely the case for both Mark and Matt,” Piva said. “When we get to the start-line of Milan-San Remo, we’re in a completely different race. Mark is confident and he knows what he wants.”

Defending champion Oscar Friere leads Rabobank’s challenge, while Tom Boonen will ride for the Quick-Step team, a year after finishing second.

“The Milan-San Remo is a strange race that’s always tough to predict,” Boonen said. “In this race you can never know what’s going to happen. Compared to last year, I’m not starting out as a favorite and this can be an advantage.

“There are many rivals, perhaps a few more than in recent years. I’ve recovered well from the flu that left me weak in the first days of the race. I’m not 100 per cent but I’m improving. I’m ready to ride a good race.”

BMC Racing, meanwhile, is confident it can continue its winning start to the season, despite lead rider Cadel Evans sitting out the race.

After winning the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Australian is resting ahead of the Volta a Catalunya, but BMC believes the team it can still challenge.

“With the strong team we have, we can play several cards and look to the selection that can happen on the final climbs,” BMC sporting director John Lelangue said. “We might not have the strongest rider in the race, but we have one of the best teams. That makes it possible to do something special.”