THE Isle of Man's Mark Cavendish will be the HTC-Highroad team leader at the first major classic of the 2011 season this Saturday.

The team said Mark and teammate Matt Goss are the two options for the finale of the Milan-San Remo Classic.

HTC-Highroad sports director Valerio Piva said: "Mark has already won this race and he'll be our leader.

"He's motivated, physically he's in pretty much the same condition as when he won it in 2009 and we're sure he'll give it 100 percent.

"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."

Piva is confident that Mark has great form coming off Tirreno-Adriatico and Matt had a successful Paris-Nice.

Piva added: "The important thing is to finish Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice in top condition and that's definitely the case for both Mark and Matt.

"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."

HTC-Highroad has done two reconnaissance rides over the Milan-San Remo course and is ready for what Piva calls one of 'the most difficult races of the season'.

He said: "The terrain is easy and you can be the most in-form rider in the bunch, but it's still a very stressful race. Crashes and other problems can happen at any point.

"It's very fast and everybody wants to be on the front all the time.

"So luck plays a big part, and without a strong team to support you at the crucial moments, it's impossible to win."