INTERVIEW | Which race does Michael Matthews still seek the most? "The World Championships, it's one that's taunted me for a long time"

Michael Matthews has revealed that although he will enter the final year of his contract with Team Jayco AlUla in 2025, he is already in talks to renew once again. In words to CyclingUpToDate, the Australian veteran has talked about how he manages to keep up with the emerging generations, 2025 calendar choices and the race he would like to win the most.

'If it ain't broken, don't fix it' is the expression that best suits Matthews' major goals for the upcoming season. After finishing second at Milano-Sanremo and Tour of Flanders (being relegated from the latter); racing the Tour de France and then the hilly classics and World Championships late in the year, the 34-year old admits that he does not intend on changing a winning formula.

"No major changes no, I think this calendar suits me really well. It's been working for a long time. Honestly from a race program point of view I'd like to keep it the same, I think that's the plan so far," he explained. "Just tweaking from my side, making sure I'm a little bit faster, little bit stronger, just working from my side basically". He was widely asked about his friendship and trainining with Tadej Pogacar, with whom he shares a great personal relationship, but a hot rivalry on the road.

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Matthews was great friends with Richie Porte in the past, and currently a training partner of the World Champion. Having a good flow of world-class training partners in the mountains near Monaco is certainly one aspect to Matthews' longevity in the sport - at the press conference he aptly wore a hat that mentioned 2013, the first year he raced with the Australian team - but there is a lot that goes into matching the new generations that according to his own words, keep 'beating records in every single race'.

"I think just keep pushing myself every year. Bringing new things into training, new things into nutrition, with my gym... Also with sports psychology. Just try to implement little things every year, not getting stale I guess," he justifies. After finishing so strongly at both Sanremo and Flanders, it could even be argued that Matthews is at his best ever level currently. "The sport is evolving, we're always learning new things about how we can improve and I guess just consistency basically. I don't think many guys love the sport more than I do, it's what I live and breathe. Until I'm not competitive anymore I'll hopefully still be here".

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He is very passionate about Milano-Sanremo, a race that ends only kilometers away from his home and lost this year after his sunglasses fell off his helmet in the final sprint against Jasper Philipsen and got him to lose speed. But this isn't the race he dreams of winning the most. That one is still reserved to one where he's finished on the podium three times (second in Richmond 2015; third in Bergen 2017 and Wollongong 2022).

"I think the World Championships, it's one that's taunted me for a long time. Watching all my competitors getting those stripe jerseys over the years it's been a hard one to swallow. To put it down to one race I'd say the World Championships yeah," he admits.

But 2025 is likely not going to be his year. He believes the mountainous course in Rwanda is too difficult for a classics specialist/sprinter like him. "Without seeing the course perfectly, from a long way out I'd say it's very difficult course. it's 5000 meters [of climbing]. You see the way the races go these days, there's not gonna be many guys left. I think it might be a year off, but I think we'll see more once someone from Cycling Australia goes there and makes us understand what we have there," he concluded.

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