Michael Matthews (cyclist)

Michael James Matthews (born 26 September 1990) is an Australian professional road and track cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .

Career

Early career

He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder, and in 2010 he became the Under 23 Road Race World Champion.

Matthews left at the end of the 2012 season, and joined on an initial two-year contract from the 2013 season.

Orica–GreenEDGE (2013–2016)

Matthews was selected to ride the 2014 Giro d'Italia. His team won the opening team time trial in Belfast. On Stage 2, Matthews finished eighth behind Marcel Kittel in a sprint finish, also in Belfast, to take the pink jersey for the leader of the general classification from teammate Svein Tuft. Matthews won Stage 6, a hill top finish at Monte Cassino. Matthews withdrew from the Giro after Stage 10 after suffering a crash on Stage 9.

In 2015, Matthews won the points classification jersey of Paris–Nice as well as a stage. He finished in third place in Milan–San Remo. He also met success at the opening stage of the Tour of the Basque Country by outsprinting a group of about fifty riders after a hilly day. He then went on to a second place in the Brabantse Pijl, winning the sprint of the group after nearly getting to lone escapee Ben Hermans. At the Amstel Gold Race, Matthews grabbed another notable result, when he came in third of the final dash for the line while being part of a small leading group. At the Tour de Suisse, Matthews won stage 4 after following Peter Sagan's wheel in the sprint and passing him in the final metres. He was named in the start list for the Tour de France.

In the 2016 Tour de France, Matthews out-sprinted a breakaway group of 7 riders to win stage 10, his first stage win in the Tour de France, completing a set of Grand Tour stage victories.

In August 2016, it was confirmed that Matthews would join for the 2017 season.

Team Sunweb (2017–2020)

Matthews was expected to contend for the points classification at the 2017 Tour de France, and his chances were boosted on Stage 4 after an incident during the final sprint which saw Mark Cavendish forced out of the race through injury and Peter Sagan, winner of the classification in the previous 5 Tours, disqualified. Matthews won Stage 14, a reduced peloton uphill sprint finish at Rodez. On Stage 16, the high pace set by Matthews's dropped the green jersey wearer Kittel; Matthews, who was second to Kittel in points classification, won the stage. On Stage 17, Kittel crashed and withdrew from the Tour, putting Matthews in the green jersey. Matthews retained the jersey to Paris.

In 2018 he won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec ahead of Greg Van Avermaet and Jasper Stuyven, before adding the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal two days later, which he won ahead of Sonny Colbrelli and Van Avermaet. As a result, he became the second rider to win both Laurentian classic races in the same year, after compatriot Simon Gerrans in 2014. In 2019, he won two stages at the Volta a Catalunya, before repeating his victory in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.

He finished 3rd in the 2020 Milan-San Remo and late in the year he took a top 10 in the UCI World Championships road race. A month earlier he won the 2020 Bretagne Classic Ouest–France, which was one of the few races that was run at its normal time during the COVID pandemic.

Team BikeExchange-Jayco

In August 2020, Matthews signed a two-year contract with , later renamed as , from the 2021 season.

In 2021 he had some strong results but no major wins, including 4th at the Amstel Gold Race, 5th in Gent–Wevelgem and 6th in Milan–San Remo. He rode Le Tour, but did not win any stages. He finished 2nd in the points classification, the second highest finish of his career, losing to Mark Cavendish 337–291.

In 2022 he had top 10 finishes in Brabantse Pijl, the Amstel Gold Race and 2022 Milan-San Remo. He won the first stage at the Volta a Catalunya, his first victory with Team BikeExchange. This victory was overshadowed as it was the stage where one of his primary rivals, Sonny Colbrelli, had a near fatal heart attack after crossing the finish line. In June he won the black jersey during the COVID marred 2022 Tour de Suisse. During the 2022 Tour de France he suffered two defeats in back to back stages; finishing 2nd to his friend Tadej Pogačar, and then the next day to rival Wout Van Aert. On stage 14 he got involved in a breakaway and survived to the final climb outlasting all of the breakaway riders except Alberto Bettiol. It looked as though he was about to be defeated again, when he appeared to suffer from cramps and Bettiol rode away from him on the final climb. Matthews was able to recover, catch and drop Bettiol, and solo to the line for his first Tour win this decade.

In the 2023 Giro d'Italia Matthews won Stage 3 ahead of Mads Pederson in a bunch sprint. It was his first stage win at the Giro since 2015.

Personal life

In August 2015, he married his Slovak girlfriend Katarína Hajzer.

Career achievements

Major results

2008

1st John Woodman Memorial

Internazionale Bresciana

:1st Points classification

:1st Prologue & Stage 3b (ITT)

1st Stage 7 Tour of the Murray River

2nd Overall GP Général Patton

:1st Stage 2

8th Road race, UCI Junior World Championships

2009

Oceania Road Championships (November)

:1st Road race

:1st Under-23 road race

:1st Under-23 time trial

2nd Time trial, Oceania Under-23 Road Championships (February)

National Under-23 Road Championships

:2nd Road race

:3rd Time trial

2nd Gran Premio della Liberazione

9th Overall Tour of Japan

2010 <small>(2 pro wins)</small>

1st Road race, UCI Road World Under-23 Championships

Tour de Langkawi

:1st Stages 1 & 3

1st Stage 1 (TTT) Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23

2nd Trofeo Banca Popolare di Vicenza

2nd Ronde van Vlaanderen Beloften

2nd Gran Premio della Liberazione

National Under-23 Road Championships

:3rd Road race

:3rd Time trial

4th Overall Tour of Japan

:1st Stage 1 (ITT)

5th Overall Tour of Wellington

:1st Stage 4

7th Overall Ringerike GP

:1st Stages 2 & 3

8th Overall Tour de l'Avenir

2011 <small>(3)</small>

1st Rund um Köln

1st Stage 2 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic

1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Murcia

3rd Time trial, National Road Championships

3rd Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop

4th Overall Tour Down Under

:1st Stage 3

5th Overall Delta Tour Zeeland

6th Grote Prijs Jef Scherens

2012 <small>(2)</small>

1st Clásica de Almería

Tour of Utah

:1st Sprints classification

:1st Stage 3

9th Overall Tour Down Under

10th Brabantse Pijl

2013 <small>(4)</small>

Vuelta a España

:1st Stages 5 & 21

:Held after Stages 6 & 7

Tour of Utah

:1st Sprints classification

:1st Stages 2 & 4

National Road Championships

:2nd Road race

:3rd Time trial

2nd Vuelta a La Rioja

2014 <small>(5)</small>

1st Vuelta a La Rioja

Giro d'Italia

:1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 6

:Held after Stages 2–7

:Held after Stages 2–7

:Held after Stages 6 & 7

Vuelta a España

:1st Stage 3

:Held after Stages 3–5

:Held after Stage 4

Tour of Slovenia

:1st Points classification

:1st Stage 1 (ITT)

1st Stage 3 Tour of the Basque Country

2nd Brabantse Pijl

6th Trofeo Ses Salines

7th Trofeo Palma

2015 <small>(5)</small>

Giro d'Italia

:1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 3

:Held after Stages 2–3

:Held after Stages 1–3

Paris–Nice

:1st Points classification

:1st Stage 3

Tour of Alberta

:1st Points classification

:1st Stage 2

1st Stage 1 Tour of the Basque Country

1st Stage 4 Tour de Suisse

2nd Road race, UCI Road World Championships

2nd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

2nd Brabantse Pijl

3rd Milan–San Remo

3rd Amstel Gold Race

Combativity award Stage 5 Tour de France

2016 <small>(4)</small>

1st Vuelta a La Rioja

1st Stage 10 Tour de France

Paris–Nice

:1st Points classification

:1st Prologue & Stage 2

UCI Road World Championships

:3rd Team time trial

:4th Road race

3rd London–Surrey Classic

4th Bretagne Classic

4th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal

5th Brabantse Pijl

5th Amstel Gold Race

5th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

2017 <small>(4)</small>

UCI Road World Championships

:1st Team time trial

:3rd Road race

Tour de France

:1st Points classification

:1st Stages 14 & 16

1st Stage 1 Tour of the Basque Country

1st Stage 3 Tour de Suisse

3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

3rd London–Surrey Classic

4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège

5th Bretagne Classic

8th Gent–Wevelgem

8th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal

9th UCI World Tour

10th Amstel Gold Race

2018 <small>(4)</small>

1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal

1st Prologue Tour de Romandie

2nd Team time trial, UCI Road World Championships

2nd Overall BinckBank Tour

:1st Stage 7

2nd Eschborn–Frankfurt

4th Bretagne Classic

5th La Flèche Wallonne

7th UCI World Tour

7th Milan–San Remo

2019 <small>(3)</small>

1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

Volta a Catalunya

:1st Points classification

:1st Stages 2 & 6

4th Brabantse Pijl

6th Tour of Flanders

8th La Flèche Wallonne

2020 <small>(1)</small>

1st Bretagne Classic

3rd Milan–San Remo

7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships

2021

4th Amstel Gold Race

5th Gent–Wevelgem

6th Milan–San Remo

6th Grand Prix of Aargau Canton

9th Eschborn–Frankfurt

2022 <small>(2)</small>

Tour de France

:1st Stage 14

: Combativity award Stage 14

1st Stage 1 Volta a Catalunya

1st Points classification, Tour de Suisse

2nd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

UCI Road World Championships

:3rd Road race

:3rd Team relay

4th Milan–San Remo

4th Trofeo Pollença–Port d'Andratx

6th Trofeo Alcúdia–Port d'Alcúdia

6th Trofeo Playa de Palma

7th Amstel Gold Race

7th Brabantse Pijl

2023 <small>(1)</small>

1st Stage 3 Giro d'Italia

1st Sprints classification, Tour Down Under

3rd Road race, National Road Championships

3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

4th Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

4th Trofeo Matteotti

2024 <small>(2)</small>

1st Team relay, UCI Road World Championships

1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

1st Gran Premio Castellón

2nd Milan–San Remo

7th Bretagne Classic

8th Brabantse Pijl

10th Amstel Gold Race

2025 <small>(1)</small>

1st Team relay, UCI Road World Championships

1st Eschborn–Frankfurt

4th Milan–San Remo

5th Amstel Gold Race

5th Coppa Bernocchi

5th Gran Piemonte

7th Japan Cup

8th Bretagne Classic

9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

2026 <small>(1)</small>

1st Gran Premio Castellón

Grand Tour record

Classics results timeline

Awards

• 2017 – Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy (Australian Cyclist of the Year), Men's Elite Road Cyclist of the Year and the People's Choice Award.
• 2017 – ACT Sport Male Athlete of the Year.

References

External links