Australia will be missing a host of established names for the Commonwealth Games road cycling events in March, but that is unlikely to deflate their bid to dominate as they did in Manchester four years ago.

Australia will be without reigning Commonwealth road champion Stuart O'Grady and three-time world time trial champion Michael Rogers for the games, which fall right at the start of the European one-day classics season in mid-March.

Cadel Evans, who also took gold in Manchester when he beat Rogers and fellow compatriot Nathan O'Neill in the road time trial, will also be missing as he fine-tunes preparations for the Tour de France. He finished eighth overall last year in his race debut.

Many Europe-based teams have been hesitant in releasing their top pros for a week of Commonwealth action in Melbourne at the end of next month, a fact Australia's head coach, Shayne Bannon, understands.

"You have to be realistic. If you're paying riders a lot of money to compete in Europe I'd also be reluctant to let them get on a plane and go back to Australia for a week," Bannon said recently at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.

However despite major absences, Australia will still be the ones to beat.

The Aussies' gold, silver and bronze finish in the men's road race in Manchester four years ago means the likes of South Africa, England, New Zealand and Canada will have plenty of food for thought against the competition hosts.

With O'Grady busy preparing his classics season with his new team, CSC, Liberty Seguros sprinter Allan Davis — who has never represented his country at Commonwealth or Olympic level — is ready to step in as team leader for the March 26 road race, slated for a circuit of about 180km.

AG2R rider Simon Gerrans, the recent winner of the Herald Sun Tour and the Tour Down Under two weeks ago, will also be a key player.

Former professional Neil Stephens, the coach, will get six riders from an initial 10-man squad chosen by the national selectors in less than a week.

And Davis - who will rush to Melbourne a day after the prestigious Italian one-day classic Milan-San Remo - is already excited.

"It's pretty important for me. I've never represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games or the Olympic Games so it's something new for me," said Davis.

"I was lucky enough that the team (Liberty) allowed me to put my hand up."

At the Tour Down Under Davis won two stages and also beat ace sprinter Robbie McEwen on the last day.

In Melbourne he is likely to be supported by Mathew Hayman, who has several years of top-level experience in Europe and pleaded with his Dutch Rabobank team to be allowed to compete.

Nevertheless, these games could herald the arrival of a new crop of talented Aussie riders.

Rabobank rider Will Walker, who many feel has the talent and physiological capacities to become one of the most successful riders Australia has ever produced, could also be given the nod.

Walker, 20, finished second in the 2005 under-23 world road race championships, just 26 seconds behind Ukrainian phenomenon Dmytro Grabovskyy. Another promising Aussie, Christopher Sutton, finished fifth in that race and is another shoe-in.

Australia's rivals for the competition could include South Africa's Robbie Hunter (PhonaK), England's Roger Hammond and Canadian Michael Barry (both Discovery Channel) - although their release for the competition from their professional teams has yet to be finalized.

"It's going to be pretty difficult to get the same result as we did four years ago," said Bannon. "But we'll certainly be going for the win."

For the men's time trial, Nathan O'Neill - third in Manchester - and Ben Day are expected to get the nod.