Michael Matthews reflects on top-five finish at Amstel Gold Race: "We can be proud of the ride"

Michael Matthews secured fifth place at the 2025 Amstel Gold Race and offered his reflections at the finish in an interview with Cycling Pro Net. While the Team Jayco AlUla rider just missed out on the podium, he remained upbeat about the performance and the points gained.

"It started at like 50ks to go with attack of Julian," Matthews explained when asked about how the race unfolded. "I was well positioned when they attacked… yeah couldn't exactly go when they went and it seemed a little bit early to really go that deep. And you saw Alaphilippe blow up I think two climbs later. So yeah I think it was a good decision not to dig as deep as I could to go with them at that time."

Commenting on Tadej Pogacar’s form, he added, "You see the way Tadej is riding at the moment he can do everything. So… yeah, it was definitely a strong ride from Tadej again.”

Despite the late catch and Matthews’ own strong positioning, the chasing group couldn’t close the gap, “I guess the problem is when UAE's got a rider there, Trek had a rider there and Quickstep had a rider there they're all sort of messing up the chase a little bit behind.

“But yeah I think we were coming close and I was quite confident we were going to get in touching distance and then guys would try and jump across but it was just that little bit too far for guys to start to launch."

On his own result, Matthews remained realistic but positive, "Yeah I think top five is always nice in a classic. Also for a lot of points for the team which is what we need this year when it's the points here. So I think another big load of points today. We can be happy with that. But obviously we came here for the podium but… yeah two spots shy. I think we can be proud of the ride."