Michael Matthews will switch from Orica-BikeExchange to Team Sunweb (formerly Giant-Alpecin) for 2017, unafraid of leaving a familiar and somewhat cosy position in the Australian team for a more prominent leadership role and more responsibility with the Dutch-German team next season.
Matthews will in some ways replace John Degenkolb, who has moved to Trek-Segafredo, with the musical chairs in big-name leaders coming about as Orica-BikeExchange focus more on the Grand Tours with Adam and Simon Yates and Esteban Chaves. Team Sunweb has reduced their interest in the Cobbled classics to back Tom Dumoulin in the Grand Tours. Team manager Iwan Spekenbrink is convinced that Matthews can win sprints and hillier Classics like Milan-San Remo, Amstel Gold Race and other one-day race that offer a haul of UCI WorldTour points.
Canberra born Matthews turned 26 in late September and is arguably at the very peak of his career. He has proved his pedigree with a run of 25 increasingly more important victories since 2011. He first showed his potential as an under 23 rider the year before, with excellent results in Europe and victory in the under 23 World Championships in Australia. That secured him a place at the Rabobank Development team and then a privileged position at Orica.
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Now, Matthews has no problem cutting his Australian umbilical chord after four years with Orica-Bike Exchange. He is hungry for success and felt he had to move on from Orica to pursue his career goals.
"I live in Europe the whole year but I'm obviously a proud Australian and that's never going to change. However, for the moment, I live in Europe and that's where my life is now and for the next few years," he explains to Cyclingnews in an exclusive interview. "Orica is a team where I was comfortable in and it would have been easy to stay, stick it out and see what happens. But I always want to win and the best way for me to keep winning and win more is to go to Team Sunweb with the support they're going to give me.
"They have a good plan for me for the next three years. It's nice to know they have a long-term plan for me and where they see me developing. They want to achieve what I hope to achieve. The structure they have also suits my style, so I'm really looking forward to riding with them."
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