Michael Matthews reflects on emotional victory in Quebec City
After a disappointing season, Team Sunweb's Michael Matthews took his first WorldTour one-day win
Michael Matthews victory celebration said it all. After a season over which he has dealt with injury and illness, Matthews turned things around in Quebec City sprinting to victory after being well supported by his teammates through the day.
“Wow, I’m super happy with the day I had, it really was a good day out there today. The boys supported me really well throughout the race and I’m just super happy that I could finish it off for them with a really strong sprint at the end,” Matthews said. “It’s a massive relief to get this win, it’s really quite emotional for me.”
Matthews crossed the line ahead of Greg Van Avermaet who was eyeing the victory in the absence of world champion Peter Sagan who bested him here the past two years. BMC did a lot of the chasing with some assistance from Sunweb and Astana. “It’s frustrating a little bit. I was twice second behind Peter Sagan, now I’m behind Michael Matthews. I’m on the podium again. That’s something. It’s a good result for me too. I launched the sprint with 200 metres to go,” Van Avermaet said. “I like to do long sprints, but Michael was really strong. I was behind him and I could not do any better. But I’m glad with my form and I hope to do better in Montréal.”
For Matthews, it was a significant win because it’s his first one day victory in the WorldTour. The win was a big relief for Matthews who is finding form in the latter half of the season after missing major results at early season goals like the Tour de France.
“This is my first win in a classic. I’ve had wins on each of the Grand Tours and I won the green jersey on the Tour de France. But I had never won a one-day race at WorldTour level and I’m especially happy it took place in Quebec as I love coming here every year. That’s the thing I thought about when I crossed the line.”
Matthew’s doesn’t have much more time this season to turn things but a win at the BinkBank Tour was a sign of things to come.
“It’s been a rocky start. I’m happy I have been able to turn it around in the second half of the season. The team kept a lot of positivity in me and my wife has supported me throughout illness and injury,” Matthews said. “The win is really for her and my two daughters. We welcomed our second earlier this year so this is for them.”
Matthews has been on the verge of big one-day classics success with results like fourth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, fifth at La Flèche Wallonne and multiple other top-10 placings in one-day WorldTour races. With the win in Quebec City under his belt, Matthews will hope the race in Montreal on Sunday is decided by a bunch kick.
“We started the race with a lot of confidence to go for the win today with Bling. After BMC started to control the race we joined in to help later with Stammie and Roy,” said Team Sunweb coach Arthur Dongen. “Bling was never in difficulty thanks to the help of the other guys and did an amazing sprint at the finish. I’m super proud of the whole team effort.”
Matthews finished fourth in Montreal in 2016 and eighth last year.
