Introduction
Michael James Matthews (born 26 September 1990) is an Australian professional road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Sunweb.
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 Rabobank at the end of the 2012 season, and joined Orica–GreenEDGE 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 Orica–GreenEDGE 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 Team Sunweb for the 2017 season.
Team Sunweb (2017–)
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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' Team Sunweb 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.
Personal life
In August 2015 he married his Slovakian girlfriend Katarína Hajzerová.
Career achievements
Major results
Grand Tour record
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | — | DNS-11 | DNS-14 | — | — | — | — |
| Stages won | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| Points classification | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | 152 | 110 | 69 | DNS-5 | 67 |
| Stages won | — | — | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Points classification | — | — | 73 | 3 | 1 | — | 5 |
| Vuelta a España | 110 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stages won | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Points classification | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Winner |
| 2–3 | Top three-finish |
| 4–10 | Top ten-finish |
| 11– | Other finish |
| DNE | Did Not Enter |
| DNF-x | Did Not Finish (retired on stage x) |
| DNS-x | Did Not Start (no started on stage x) |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| N/A | Race/classification not held |
| NR | Not Ranked in this classification |
Monument & classics results timeline
| Monument | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | 107 | — | — | 78 | 3 | 59 | 12 | 7 | 12 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 |
| Paris–Roubaix | Has not contested during his career | ||||||||
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | 128 | — | — | — | 4 | 63 | 35 |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | DNF | — |
| Classic | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | DNF | 12 |
| E3 Harelbeke | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | — |
| Gent–Wevelgem | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 13 | — |
| Amstel Gold Race | — | — | DNF | 12 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 16 |
| La Flèche Wallonne | — | — | 112 | — | DNF | 21 | 67 | 5 | 8 |
| Clásica de San Sebastián | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | 55 | — |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec | — | DNF | — | — | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal | — | 71 | — | — | 19 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 19 |
Awards
- 2017 - "Oppy", for the 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.