Australian cycling stars Caleb Ewan and Michael Matthews are locked in to contest the 2023 Road National Championships, adding their names to a hot field.
Ewan will contest the January 6-10 event for the first time in four years, while it will be Matthews' first appearance in Ballarat since 2014.
Both will be vying for their first victory in the elite men's road race. Ewan finished second in 2015, two years after Matthews achieved the same result.
Sprint ace Ewan is also set to race the criterium, an event he won on three consecutive occasions from 2016 to 2018.
The Tour de France and Giro d'Italia stage winner is coming off a tough 2022 season where he had eight wins - but none in the grand tours.
The 28-year-old crashed during the Giro and also needed shoulder surgery immediately after the Tour, which meant he had to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games road race team.
Ewan then was a controversial omission from the Australian team for the Wollongong world road championships, where Matthews won bronze.
Ewan will race with Lotto-Dstny teammates Jarrad Drizners and Harry Sweeny at the Road National Championships, while Matthews is expected to have extensive support from Team BikeExchange-Jayco, including previous national medallists Luke Durbridge, Kelland O'Brien and Chris Harper.
The start list for the elite men's road race will include former champion Luke Plapp and grand tour stage-winners Ben O'Connor, Simon Clarke and Jay Vine.
Former winners Grace Brown, Amanda Spratt and Ruby Roseman-Gannon will feature in the elite women's road race.
Ewan and Matthews are also confirmed starters at the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide, which runs from January 14-22.
