Bad luck no more! Michael Matthews wins Tour de France stage
Breaks two-year bad luck
Australian rider Michael Matthews finally broke his bad luck at the Tour de France after winning the 10th stage in Revel.
According to the Tour de France website, Michael Matthews is the first Australian win at the tournament this year as he beat Peter Sagan, a revenge for his second place finish to Sagan in last year’s world championship.
The win also allowed Matthews, 25, to break free from a series of bad luck at the Tour de France.
Matthews wasn’t able to compete at the start of the 2014 Tour de France following a crash two days before the start of the inaugural stage in Leeds. He crashed again in 2015 during the 3rd stage of the tournament.
He was badly injured following the crash but still finished the race as part of his preparation for future races at the Tour de France.
Foxsports reports Matthews broke four ribs in the crash and struggled to the finish on the Champs Elysees.
He thought about retiring after he crashed again twice this month before finally winning it during the 10th stage.
“It’s unbelievable. I was close to giving in at this race,” Matthews said. “I thought maybe this race is not for me, and I’d focus on other races.”
The Australian rider was comforted by his wife during Monday’s rest day in Andorra.
“My wife and I had a good talk, and she really motivated me to keep pushing,” he said.
Matthews profited from the work of his teammates to win the 10th stage of the Tour de France.
Six riders, including Matthews’ teammates Daryl Impey and Luke Durbridge, fought for the stage victory. Sagan tried to take advantage of a small climb but failed to surprise his rivals. Impey countered the move and Durbridge tried another attack to wear out Sagan.
Impey perfectly sets up Matthews in the final section before Greg Van Avermaet’s final 200-meter sprint. Matthews followed and easily passed Sagan.
The win allowed Matthews to complete the grand tour trifecta, after already winning stages at the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia.
