Michael Matthews is currently enjoying his belated honeymoon in the Maldives and perhaps looking back on what was a successful 2015 season.
The 25-year-old from Canberra has progressed from winning the Under 23 world road race title in 2010 to become one of the team leaders at Orica-GreenEdge and a contender in a wide range of major Classics and other races. He finished third in Milan-San Remo behind John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff and was third in the Amstel Gold Race after going with Philippe Gilbert on the Cauberg climb. He was second in the Grand Prix Cycliste du Quebec in Canada and second in the world road race championships, winning the sprint behind Peter Sagan.
Orica-GreenEdge’s success in the opening team time trial at the Giro d’Italia allowed Matthews to wear again the leader's pink jersey and he again won a stage at the Giro d’Italia while leading the race. Other victories came at Paris-Nice, the Vuelta a Pais Vasco and the Tour de Suisse. Matthews also learnt to suffer in 2015, finishing his debut Tour de France after riding for much of the race with fractured ribs.
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Matthews was hugely disappointed after is second place behind Sagan in Richmond and bemoaned a lack of clarity in the Australian team tactics that meant Simon Gerrans was allowed to ride for himself in the finale rather sacrifice his chances to help Matthews. However, Matthews has denied there are any serious issues with Gerrans, and the two will again be teammates in 2016.
In this exclusive interview with Cyclingnews, Matthews describes 2015 as his best ever season due to his results in the Classics. He explains how suffering at the Tour de France taught him how to suffer more than ever and how he is happy to have an even bigger leadership role at Orica-GreenEdge in 2016 as he tries to transform podium places in Classics into victories.
Cyclingnews: Would you describe 2015 as your best ever season?
Michael Matthews: Definitely. I went into the season with a few goals and aiming to have a few peaks, and I was able to achieve those goals. Unfortunately they weren’t all wins but they were close: I was on the podium in every single one day Classic that I was aiming for. I’ve got to be happy with that, considering where I was last year -not being around the mark in any of the Classics. That makes my season a success. 2015 was my best ever season.
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