"A beautiful way to end the season" - Michael Matthews looks forward to wrap tattered season in Kigali with style

Michael Matthews won the Eschborn-Frankfurt on May 1. Since then, we haven't heard of the experienced Australian for nearly four months. But at the Bretagne Classic last week, Matthews showed up again and with an 8th place, has confirmed to back in a competitive shape. That's in particular good news for the national team with view to World Championships in Rwanda where Matthews is expected to lead the team from Down Under.

"Obviously for me the World Championships is always one of my biggest motivations of the year – putting on the green and gold jersey and representing Australia at the World Championships is always a beautiful way to end the season," Matthews says on Australian cycling federation's website.

And what was the reason for Matthews' absence you wonder? It all started at an altitude camp in June. Matthews recalls experiencing symptoms including shortness of breath, chest pain and heartbeat irregularities which worsened as his sessions intensified.

"We were there for in total three weeks, like normal, and about halfway in I started to feel like I just couldn’t breathe," he recalls. "I felt like I was trying to breathe underwater. I was trying to still do all my training, but I was thinking it was allergies that were holding me back. Towards the end of the camp, when I had to do my really, really hard efforts, I just couldn’t get through the session. I got through one of the efforts and thought I was going to die."

Matthews' coach stepped in and paused the excercise for the day, but the condition didn't improve and so the Australian drove to hospital to undergo some tests. There, a CT scan revealed blood clots flooding Matthews' lungs. Thanks to the quick intervention, Matthews could get treated in time and gradually returned to his regular training regime.

"I think through my situation, what I’ve been going through, it’s been something that I’ve always been thinking about in the back of my mind, when I go out training, when I get up in the morning whether I should go and ride my bike or not, or continue pushing to do all these tests to get myself back healthy faster than probably normal. So yeah, it was an extra motivation, which always boosts me to rise to another level for the World Championships."

Having that one big target in mind helped Matthews pull through this nuisance. "I love World Championships, I love being around all the Aussies and obviously representing Australia. But now with the whole season changing, with no Tour de France, with no Tour de Suisse, without all these races, it was definitely something that I could really pin my mind to and focus on."

Finally, the 34-year-old warns that his case should be a detterent case for anyone who experiences similar symptoms. "I think it’s a good lesson to me and to everyone, actually. If you are feeling a sharp pain in your chest don’t just think it’s allergies, or bad sleep, or fatigue. You definitely should go and get it checked."