Aussie Michael Matthews wins Tour de France stage 14 after solo ride

Mende, France: Michael Matthews won stage 14 of the Tour de France on Saturday with the most impressive ride of his roller-coaster career against past and present generational talent.

The Australian deserved the solo victory, which came after two phone conversations with his wife, Kat, whose words inspired the triumph he dedicated to their four-year-old daughter.

The 192.5-kilometre stage from Saint-Etienne to Mende played out under extreme heat through the Massif Central. It’s not the Alps or the Pyrenees that break men at the Tour, it’s such highland regions where the undulating roads through farmland that smell like manure, and fragrant pine forests, allow for no respite.

Stage winner Michael Matthews celebrates as he crosses the finish line. Credit:

Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) was on it from the gun. He darted off the front of the peloton to make the breakaway in a frenetic start and then with about 60km remaining attacked the escapees.

On the final climb the contest for the stage victory came down to him and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost). With about three kilometres remaining, the Italian got a gap on Matthews on Montee Jalabert and threatened to relegate him to another minor place.

The versatile sprinter twice came agonisingly close to stage wins in the first week of the Tour, finishing second to Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) on stage six and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on stage eight.

But, tired of being second best, he thought of his family as he paced back to Bettiol and then passed him, soloing to victory in an airfield.

“I’ve been consistent, which is good, but you need to win. I think for today, after the chat I had with my wife last night and again this morning, she just said you’ve got to gamble, you’ve got to throw it all out there, try something different, something they won’t expect from you,” Matthews said post-race.

“That was my goal for today, to try something different and surprise people. It worked well.”

Matthews in the past has tried to cover all bases for BikeExchange-Jayco at the Tour but this year he entered as a co-leader alongside pure sprinter Dylan Groenewegen, who won stage three.

It took some pressure off and allowed the 31-year-old to focus on his niche – undulating terrain. He tweaked his training and what he lost in top-end speed he clearly gained in climbing skills.

Matthews has worked on his climbing, training at home in Monaco with Pogacar, to the point where their respective physiology diverges, and also a lot with his team.

“This day is basically how we train every single day,” Matthews said of his prodigious sparring partner.

“We’re attacking each other, we’re playing. It doesn’t matter what the terrain is, we’re always racing, and I think that played a little bit into my hands today.

“Training with him feels like I’m back in Australia, 17, 18 years old, fresh to cycling, and just enjoying every moment.”

Defending Tour champion Pogacar and van Aert aren’t Matthews’ typical rivals but that he can go head-to-head with the two biggest names in the sport, on the smaller climbs at the Tour this year, is testament to his resilience, perseverance, development and hard work.

Every winner has rivals, but Matthews’ over the years have been generational talents – from seven-time green jersey champion Peter Sagan (Total Direct Energies) to now two-time Tour winner Pogacar and superstar Belgian van Aert.

Matthews can feel deeply disappointed in defeat, but he also never gives up, and when he wins, he wins big. Normally, those victories come from reduced bunch sprints but the 2017 green jersey champion gambled on the weekend, and it paid off. He beat them all.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a career for me because when I came into cycling, when I came into pros, I was battling with Sagan, and now I’m battling with these two super freaks,” he said of Pogacar and van Aert.

“I love the fight. I love to be able to be fighting with the best guys in the world and still enjoying it with my team.

“I wanted to show everyone I’m not just a sprinter, I can also ride like I rode today, just thinking of my daughter on that final climb, the whole way up to the finish, my wife, how much sacrifice they make for me to make my dreams come true. Hopefully, today I showed them the reason why we sacrifice so much.”

Matthews, nicknamed “Bling,” raced for an incarnation of BikeExchange-Jayco from 2013-16 and returned last season a different rider.

Sports director Matt White observed that, with his family, he is more grounded than his long-held nickname suggests and that he is becoming a stronger athlete, in the same vein as retired Norwegian Thor Hushovd.

“For Bling, it’s the most impressive ride of his career,” White said.

“He has changed over the years, he’s a different rider than he was when he was with us four or five years ago. He’s become a lot more robust. His ability to climb has obviously improved, and he’s still got that snap there.

“He had some close run-ins with Wout van Aert early in the race and to get that monkey off his back and take the most impressive win of his career the third time trying, we are all very, very proud of him.”

Bettiol finished 15 seconds behind Matthews for second, with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) third. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) retained the leader’s yellow jersey ahead of Pogacar and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) on the general classification.

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