Michael Matthews "did everything I could" but just barely missed out on Tour win again

Team BikeExchange - Jayco has ridden strongly today in search of a stage win, and Michael Matthews once again came very close to it, however again defeated by a single stronger rival.

The Australian team controlled the day to perfection and gave Matthews the opportunity to fight for the stage win. After his strong performance in Longwy, he once again managed to perform at the very best level, however with the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert as competition it proved very difficult for the 31-year old to succeed.

“I learnt from two days ago that I really need to start my sprint first, I gave it a shot from the front and started my sprint first but just got beaten by Wout on the line," he described. "I honestly don’t think I made a mistake today, I did everything I could, there was just a stronger rider in the bike race today, so I wouldn’t take anything back."

With UAE lacking the firepower to have an excruciatingly high pace and no-one to attack the race, Matthews had the legs to do his sprint perfectly: "I think it was around 200m to go, it looked like a lot of guys, Tadej and Wout were boxed on the left a little bit, so I was hoping I could get a little bit of a jump, but I just wasn’t quick enough."

"I did my best, the team rode a great race to lead me to where I needed to be, and it’s second again, hopefully I’m knocking on the door of that win," Matthews concluded. The two stages that suited him the most were well seized, but on both occasions one rider had the best of the Australian. He'll be supporting Dylan Groenewegen and relying on breakaways over the coming weeks to bring the team success.