With Mark Cavendish competing in the Giro d'Italia, HTC-Highroad will look to Matt Goss for sprint success in this year's Amgen Tour of California.

Goss, who already has five stage victories and two race triumphs on his 2011 résumé, sees the Stage 2 finish Monday in Sacramento and the Stage 3 finish Tuesday in Modesto as good possibilities for a field sprint.

"(Today) depends a lot on the weather, but the two days after that, we'll try and set up something," said Goss, a 24-year-old Australian in his second season with HTC-Highroad.

And with his team built to support sprinters, Goss hopes for a good result.

"It's perfect," he said. "We've got a team that's set up for that."

Goss said his form isn't quite as good as earlier this season, when his victories included the Milan-San Remo race and Stage 3 of the Paris-Nice competition.

"I'm not sure if it's the same as it was in March," he said. "I'm in the build-up stage again now."

But HTC-Highroad's powerful lineup was enough to help Cavendish get to the finish line first in Sacramento last year. And the team's priorities in this race are to help Goss in the sprints and support Tejay Van Garderen in the overall race.

"Most of us are here for Tejay and Matt," said Danny Pate, an HTC-Highroad rider.

Strong teams – Behind the battle for individual honors is the team competition. Defending champion Garmin-Cervelo and Team RadioShack are expected to contend for the top spot.

"The Tour of California is obviously a big objective for Garmin-Cervelo," said Andrew Talansky, a Garmin-Cervelo rider. "We've got quite a few guys who can do something for the overall.

"It's definitely one of the strongest teams in the race. It appears on paper to be the strongest team Garmin-Cervelo's ever brought to the race."

Don't get too close – Several riders chuckled when asked about spectators dressing up in costume and getting close to them on the course.

"They can be next to us," said Team RadioShack's Levi Leipheimer, a three-time Tour of California champion. "A couple of times in races, they're in front of us. That can be dangerous. The crazier the costume, the better."

What's too close?

"They shouldn't be able to touch us," Leipheimer said.

Monday ride – A community ride is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Monday before the expected 3:30 p.m. finish of the second stage at the state Capitol. Those interested in riding the finishing circuit can start at 13th and L streets.

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