It wasn't quite the last dance of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, but the Giro d'Italia marked the end of an era for Team Sunweb. Michael Matthews, Wilco Kelderman, and Sam Omen raced their last race with the team before leaving for the new world in 2021.

Matthews was left out of Team Sunweb's Tour de France roster, pushing his contract expiration a year earlier, but he showed no signs of just biding his time to return to Mitchelton-Scott next season.

In his first race since the closure, Milan-San Remo, he won a sprint race to finish third, won the Bretagne Classic in late August, and finished seventh at last weekend's World Championships in Imola on a tough course.

On Friday morning, 24 hours before the Giro opens with a time trial in Palermo, Matthews insisted that Team Sunweb's three breakaway riders would have no trouble finding motivation for the next three weeks.

"Not at all," Matthews said. But I'm with Team Sunweb until the end of December, and I think the riders in the Giro are fully committed until the end of the year."

"I think finishing with the team in the best possible way and finishing with great memories of my years with this team has given us even more momentum. We all want to do everything we can to win the Giro and show what we are capable of.

Kelderman, who will move to Bora-Hansgrohe next year, will leave Palermo looking for a podium finish, while Omen, who will move to Jumbo Visma, admitted that he has yet to find his way back to his best form after undergoing iliac artery surgery last year.

Like Matthews, the Dutch duo missed the Tour de France and prepared for the Giro in Tirreno-Adriatico last month.

"We know each other well and that will make a difference in this Giro," Matthews said.

"We are really like one unit and I don't think anyone is thinking about leaving the team next year. We are just fully committed until the end of the year, and then obviously, the three of us are going to different teams."

Matthews is part of a group of sprinters who will be competing in this year's Giro, including Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Elia Viviani (Cofidis), Arnaud Demaret (Groupama-FDJ) and Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates)

Also in the top 10 are.

The Australian also has the rare ability to thrive on undulating stages and uphill finishes that are out of reach for faster riders, as his performance on the Corsa Rosa attests. [For example, in his debut in 2014, he carried the pink jersey in the uphill finish of Montecassino.

His run in Imola last weekend suggested that Matthews' aptitude for climbs has not diminished, despite the limited distance he has raced since the season resumed in August. He was one of only two riders to finish in the top 10 in the world championships despite not having run the Tour de France immediately prior.

"I think my climbing legs are feeling really good," Matthews said.

"At the World Championships, being able to run with the top 10 riders in the world on a course that didn't really suit me was probably more than I expected. That gave me a lot of confidence going into this Giro."

Sunday's uphill finish in Agrigento should give Matthews an early chance to shine in the Giro.

The stage ends with a 4km climb at an average of 5%, tough enough to burn pure sprinters, but not too steep to reward attackers.

Race director Mauro Veni told BiciSport that it is "for finishers or classics."

Matthews will contend for the stage win and perhaps the maglia rosa, depending on how he fares in the opening time trial from Monreale to Palermo on Saturday.

"I'm not sure if it's really important to go full throttle in the TT to take the jersey on day 2.

"I think it would be good to not lose too much time on the winner and see what happens in the next few days. I will talk to the team again tonight and see what we can do. If we do well in the time trial, maybe we can win the jersey in the second stage.