Twelve years after winning the U23 rainbow jersey on his home turf, Michael Matthews is on the verge of a historic local double with the full backing of the Australian team.

If the 31-year-old Matthews wins Sunday's UCI Road World Championships elite men's road race, he will become the first rider in history to win the U23 and elite double. He would also become the first rider to win the elite title in his home country since Alessandro Ballan in 2008 and the third since Bernard Hinault in 1980.

A medal on Sunday would also mark the first time a homegrown athlete has made the world championship podium since Alexander Kristoff finished second in 2017.

Historically, home World Championships often do not lead to medals, but it is clear that Matthews has the full backing of the 2022 team.

This was epitomized on Friday afternoon when all eight members of the Australian team were interviewed by the press and united behind their leader. Each player answered questions and reiterated that their job was to send Matthews into the rainbow stripes.

In particular, the experienced trio of Simon Clark, Luke Durbridge, and Heinrich Haussler will play a key role in protecting Matthews on the course on Sunday.

"In a race like this, where there is no radio, it is important to have a clear plan before starting the race. The lack of radio makes that job even more important," Simon Clark said.

"Having said that, I don't think you need to give that much direction on the job because everyone knows the job they are here to do. Everyone knows how we should respond in any given race situation."

"We all know how we should respond in any given race situation,"

Clark said.

In addition to the 2010 rainbow jersey, Matthews' palmares include a silver medal in Richmond in 2015 and a bronze in Bergen in 2017, as well as fourth place in Doha and seventh in Imola.

But rather than podiums, Matthews thinks daily about winning at the U23s, and in 2022 he is going back to basics and replicating his 2010 training plan.

"Back in Canberra, we did the same preparation with a lot of facilities at AIS. I think back to that beautiful moment and what we accomplished in Geelong, it's been a long time ago, but I still think about it almost every day." Remembering that moment is a great motivator and knowing that it is possible to achieve. It gives me confidence."

Along with Matthews, none of the pre-race favorites to win, Wout Van Aert (Belgium), Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia), Lemko Evenpaugh (Belgium), or Biniam Girmay (Eritrea), stood on the start line in Geelong. No rider made it to the start line of the Geelong. In fact, Evenpaugh, Girmay, and Pogacar were not yet teenagers at the time.

"Obviously, there are some very strong bike riders out there. I'm not going to lie. I think Wout and Taddej are important riders to make the race. Myself, I just want to ride my way to the top. These two will be very impressive," Matthews said of his young rivals.

"I saw Lemko at the Vuelta and he was basically superhuman, but in the TT the other day he was a bit more human. We race our race and they race theirs.

Matthews, who was "framed" as a sprinter for many years, went even more back to basics in 2020, returning to the style of racing he enjoyed in his youth. This paid off, as he took his first Tour de France stage win in five years this summer in Mende. While a group sprint at Wollongong seems most likely, Matthews expects "everything" including a continuation of his aggressive racing style.

"You never know what the race will be like. This year, and every race in the last few years, has been unexpected. I was talking to some of the younger players about how the World Championships usually unfolds, and I said, "This is how it used to unfold." This course in particular is going to be turned upside down."

Of the 266.9 km that the riders will race, 205.2 km will take place on Wollongong's technical urban circuit, which has 33 corners. Clark likened the circuit to Kermes, suggesting that it is the most technical World's course in years.

Clark was a key rider in Cadel Evans' victory in the 2009 Mendrisio, although he missed the 2010 World Championships, where Alan Davis won the bronze medal for Australia. To date, Clark is Australia's only gold medalist in elite road racing, and like Matthews, he knows what it takes to win.

"It's not going to be easy to sleep for a couple of hours and then wake up with a few laps to go," he said. 'It's going to be a tricky course in that regard. There are just a lot of corners, and it will be the most technical World's course I've run in years."

Clark echoed his teammate Haussler's comments about the severity of the city circuit's course.

"If you look at the last few one-day races, classics, and world championships, the race has already started 100 or 110 km before the finish. So there is no time to relax," Haussler said.

"On this course, position is key, but saving energy is also key. Micro sprints in the corners take energy out of every lap. We don't want to get into a situation where we have to use two or three riders to regain a dangerous or important group.

"All of us have to make the switch. I am not the only one giving instructions or placing riders in positions. Everyone has to do their job.

It's an easy set-up for Clark to avoid awkward situations where Matthews is isolated.

"Definitely more players together. If the group is scattered, it gets messy."

"It's a good idea to have a good group of people.

"However, when the back gets stuck, it's harder to correct it. We will certainly sit as a close-knit unit."