Reaching the finish line of the Tour de France is the main goal of every cyclist who pedals this Saturday in Barcelona.
But not every racer has risked death twice in the last year or so, as Michael Matthews has.
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“If you had told me three months ago that I would be in line for the Tour de France, I don’t think I would have believed you,” Matthews said in a team statement when the line-up was announced.
“I’ve worked really hard to get the team back together for the Tour and I’m really looking forward to getting back.”
35-year-old rider Jako AlUla will ride his ninth Tour de France this year, a race in which he has had significant success, winning the green jersey in 2017 and completing a total of four stages.
But several times over the past 14 months, Matthews must have wondered if he would ever reach that level again.
Michael Matthews is thrilled to be back on a bike and taking part in the world’s biggest race. (Getty Images: Antonio Baixauli)
This time last year, Matthews was halfway through a three-month course of anticoagulants after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism during training camp.
Matthews, fresh from winning the German classic Eschborn-Frankfurt in May, felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest while training.
He chalked it up to allergies.
When he fell off his bike and was rushed to hospital, his team and doctors quickly discovered the situation was much worse.
“The doctors said that if I had done the same training at altitude for two or three more days, I probably wouldn’t have survived,” Matthews told Ruler at the time, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.
If that wasn’t enough, Matthews suffered another major setback this year when he crashed into a fire truck at 50 kilometers per hour during training.
Michael Matthews broke both wrists and tore tendons in his thumbs. (Posted by: Instagram/@Bling90)
The truck was traveling at 50km/h in the opposite direction of Matthews when they collided, a combination that could have been fatal.
However, the incident still left Matthews with serious injuries, including a compound fracture to his hand, a severed thumb tendon, two wrist fractures and a sinus fracture that required stitches to his face.
“Let’s just say it was a lot worse than everyone thought,” Matthews told the Detour podcast.
“I crashed into a fire truck at about 100 km/h, I was going 50 and the truck was going 50.
“That obviously wasn’t said, but at the same time we didn’t want people to… worry, we just wanted people to know there was a serious incident, but not to the point of saying exactly what it was until we were ready to talk about it, what actually happened, and make sure I was fit and healthy before we said exactly what happened.
“An accident like this could have ended my career or worse.
“I may not be here now. I feel very lucky to be able to tell this story and how lucky I am.”
Michael Matthews returned to the Tour wearing purple after a successful return to the Tour of Switzerland. (Getty Images: Tim de Waele)
Matthews’ last Tour de France stage win came in 2022, on a brutal day of almost continuous climbing through the Massif Central.
Matthews attacked from the breakaway, was caught by Alberto Bettiol on the final climb of Mende, only to retake the lead from the Italian on the brutal final slopes of the Côte de la Croix Neuve.
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The Canberran has not won a Grand Tour event since but has no doubt he is ready to challenge as part of Jaco AlUla’s strong team to make up for lost time.
“After missing a match last year due to illness and then an accident earlier this year, it gave me even more motivation and hunger.
“I think we have a really strong team and now I can’t wait to meet the guys in Barcelona.
“Starting with a team time trial is a special way to start a big tour. Hopefully we can start well and pick up the pace as we get deeper into the race.”