“I probably wouldn't have survived” – Michael Matthews recalls life threatening illness

Michael Matthews has endured one of the most difficult years of his career in 2025. The Team Jayco AlUla rider was forced to miss the Tour de France after a pulmonary embolism was discovered during an altitude training camp earlier in the summer. Now, at 34, he has returned to the peloton and is targeting a strong end to his season, beginning with the Canadian WorldTour races against riders like Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert.

The illness that derailed his season was no minor setback. Matthews had been training at altitude when he suddenly developed serious symptoms that were initially easy to dismiss. “I was maybe a week and a half into my three-week training camp, and I couldn't really breathe. I got a sharp, stabbing pain in my chest, and I kept training, thinking it was allergies because they were mowing the lawn, and I have severe allergies,” he recalled.

The situation escalated quickly. “I was nearing the end of my training camp and was supposed to do some exercises, but I couldn't even manage one. I got a headache and fell off my bike while cycling uphill. We stopped training and drove to a hospital in Switzerland.” It was there that doctors made the shocking discovery. “After tests, they discovered blood clots in my body. They did scans and discovered they were in my lungs. I was hospitalized for days and took blood thinners for three months.”

Matthews later admitted just how close he had come to tragedy. “The doctors said if I had done the same training at altitude for another two to three days, I probably wouldn't have survived. One day I was doing altitude training as I normally do, and the next day I was in the hospital.”

So, a seriously close call for the Australia who has won 4 Tour de France stages, 3 Giro stages, and 3 Vuelta stages. He is the defending champion at the GP de Quebec, having won the race 3 times, and he also won the GP de Montreal in 2018.

Team Jayco AlUla quickly released a statement at the time, confirming the seriousness of the diagnosis. “During a recent altitude training camp, GreenEDGE Cycling Medical Team discovered signs of a pulmonary embolism,” read the announcement. The team added that they had “subsequently decided to pause all physical activity for the rider until further notice, as a precautionary measure.” They further reassured fans by noting, “Matthews’ health condition is stable. The Medical Team are now thoroughly investigating the extent of the issue and possible cause, to define a safe and optimal recovery process for the athlete. During this period of investigation, as a safeguarding measure, Matthews will refrain from competition to ensure there is no risk to his health and well-being, therefore ruling out his participation in the upcoming Tour de France.”

After months of recovery and medication, Matthews finally returned to racing. He marked his comeback with an eighth-place finish in the Bretagne Classic before lining up at the Maryland Classic in the United States. His form is steadily building, and he now turns his attention to the late-season one-day races in Canada, determined to close a turbulent year on a high.

What should have been a year where he raced at the Tour has instead been dominated by survival. Matthews has faced the gravest health scare of his professional career but is back in the peloton, ready to chase results once again. For the veteran Australian, simply lining up at the GP of Québec and GP de Montréal is already a victory, but he is aiming to finish the season in style.