{"id":46415,"date":"2024-03-17T19:23:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T19:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manitimes.com\/matthews-cycling-dream-ended-by-bad-luck-and-fair-play\/"},"modified":"2024-03-17T19:23:02","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T19:23:02","slug":"matthews-cycling-dream-ended-by-bad-luck-and-fair-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manitimes.com\/matthews-cycling-dream-ended-by-bad-luck-and-fair-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthews’ cycling dream ended by bad luck and fair play"},"content":{"rendered":"
Michael Matthews has revealed how his dream of winning the Milan-Sanremo ‘Monument’ classic may have been scuppered by a touch of ill-fortune – and his own sense of fair play.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old Jayco AlUla rider, one of the country’s very finest riders for more than a decade, was still left reflecting Sunday on what might have been as he missed out in winning the biggest race of his life the previous day in Italy by just a few centimetres.<\/p>\n
Being edged out by Belgian Jasper Philipsen in a photo-finish on Saturday prompted tears from the tough Aussie, as he pondered how close he had been to achieving his career-long ambition of winning one of the sport’s five biggest one-day races.<\/p>\n
But while never one for making excuses, Matthews did reveal to reporters after the line two good reasons why his runner’s-up spot – a third podium finish in Milan-Sanremo – might easily have been a victory.<\/p>\n
First, the bad luck. “I’m not sure if people saw but my glasses fell off with 50 metres to go and I had to stop pedalling for a second,” said Matthews.<\/p>\n
“That’s when Philipsen came past me. It sucks but I can’t change it now.”<\/p>\n
Next, his own determination that the exciting sprint denouement was all above board as Philipsen came up on his inside close to the crowd barriers in the Via Roma finale.<\/p>\n