Michael Matthews on another disappointment in Suisse: "I couldn’t launch my sprint like the way I wanted to"

Michael Matthews is not an unfamiliar face to finishing second, however another blow in a stage that suited him perfectly as he failed to seize the reduced bunch sprint was hard to take. The Team BikeExchange - Jayco rider showed good form today, but didn't bring in the benefit from the stage.

"I’m very disappointed in myself, I made a big mistake in the final corner, a lot of guys passed me, but not all sprinters. Then I had to come back past them again in the final straight to the finish," Matthews described. The 190-kilometer stage into Brunnen provided an opportunity for many, however the conservative pace over the final climb saw a relatively big group remain compact in the head of the race - in which Matthews was a part of.

He was in contention for the final sprint, however it didn't go smoothly for the Australian: "I had to start my sprint really early, I think with around 400 or 500 to go to get back to actually fight for the victory. I had really good speed, I had really good legs, but just made a silly mistake through the final corner."

"I fought really hard to get over the final climb, I had a teammate with me to pace me over the very top and bring me into the sprint, but I was just bombarded into the final corner and unfortunately, I couldn’t launch my sprint like the way I wanted to," he concluded. Today was on paper the last stage that he would be able to contest, however if he has a good day and benefits from the race situation, tomorrow's route into Novazzano can see him once again battling for the stage win.