Australian cyclist Michael Matthews finished his Spring campaign in style with victory in the Eschborn-Frankfurt one-day race on Thursday ahead of Uno-X Mobility’s Magnus Cort Nielsen and Movistar’s third-placed Jon Barrenetxea.
The 34-year-old Jayco AlUla cyclist sprinted to his 43rd career win after his team split the peloton at the tough, hilly section of the 198 km race known as the ‘German Classic’.
A four-times Tour de France stage-winner, Matthews burnished his impressive record of winning at least one race in each of his last 16 seasons barring COVID-hit 2021.
“I think my shape through the Spring was good, I just wasn’t on the top step,” said Matthews, who was fourth in Milan-San Remo and fifth at the Amstel Gold Race this season.
“It’s nice to finish off this block with a win here in Frankfurt.
“It’s a race that has really suited me for a lot of years and I haven’t been able to win it, so to come here with the team and the way we rode – we rode perfectly – and to execute a performance like my team did today it was the icing on top of the cake.”