Source : ABC NEWS
Michael Matthews felt that his career was probably over at the start of the season.
Having missed a large portion of the 2025 season after a pulmonary embolism was discovered in his lung, a horrific collision with a fire truck while training in March could have cost him an awful lot more than just his career.
But less than eight months later the 36-year-old was standing on the world championship podium for the fourth time in his career, claiming second place in what was the greatest possible silver lining after two years of desperately bad luck.
“I’m pretty speechless I’m sitting here with a silver medal around my neck,” Matthews said.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly how today was going to go.
“The field was so strong. Leading into the race, I was quietly confident, but the world championships is always a bit of a lottery.”
Michael Matthews felt he might not have been able to ride during the world championships after a horrific two seasons. (Supplied: AusCycling/Craig Render)
Matthews led the chasing pack home 13 seconds behind surprise American winner Brandon McNulty after a brutal 273.4-kilometre course in and around Montréal in Canada.
The Australian edged out former champion Mathieu van der Poel and Quinn Simmonds, who were both classified with the same time.
His silver medal will sit alongside the road race silver he won 11 years ago in Richmond, Virginia, as well ass road race bronze medals in 2017 (Bergen) and 2022 (Wollongong).
Matthews also has two gold medals and a bronze in the mixed team relay at world championships, and was the winner of the under 23 title in Geelong in 2010.
“I think this was probably my last opportunity to be a world champion. So, obviously, mixed feelings, but at the same time, I have to be proud of what the way I’ve bounced back,” Matthews said.
“To be second around here on a circuit that many said was out of my reach, to show everyone that I’m still up there with the best in the world even after what I’ve been through, at the moment feels like a win.”
Just getting to the start line would have been a victory of sorts for Matthews.
On March 5, the veteran Australian rider crashed head-on with a fire truck at a combined speed of 100km/h.
Michael Matthews was lucky to be able to continue after his horrific crash in March. (Supplied: Instagram/@Bling90)
Matthews suffered an open arm fracture, severed thumb tendons, broke both wrists and sustained a sinus fracture that required stitches to his face.
“I hit a fire truck at pretty much 100km/h, I was doing 50 and the truck was doing 50,” Matthews told the Detour podcast prior to this year’s Tour de France.
“With a crash like that, it could have ended my career, or even worse.
“I might not be here right now. I’m extremely blessed to be able to tell the story and how lucky I was.”
Matthews said there were a couple of times over the past two years when he felt he would never be back at the pointy end of the professional peloton, crediting his family for always believing in him.
“What I’ve been through the last two years, with embolia in my lungs, thinking my career was done, to breaking both my arms at the start of this year, thinking my career was done. Now, bouncing back to being second in the Worlds road race — just speechless, honestly,” he said.
“I said to my wife at the start of today, ‘Let’s just leave it all out there and be proud of the ride at the end of the day, make sure you finish with nothing.’
“It’s exactly what happened today when I crossed the finish line. I put my head in my hands almost in disbelief.
“Honestly, it’s just credit to my family, to the team, to all the support crew around me that didn’t stop believing this could happen right now. So, I owe everything to them.”
Michael Matthews was almost in disbelief at winning silver. (Getty Images: Dario Belingheri)
The race itself was an absolute barnstormer of a contest from the very off.
Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar was absent from the race, recovering from a fractured neck and collarbone that he suffered in a crash that took him out of the Vuelta a España last month.
That left the race wide open, with a number of riders all believing they had a chance to claim the rainbow bands on a course that was hard enough to interest the climbers as much as the one-day specialist rouleurs.
The race exploded with 90km to go as Oscar Onley, van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Simmons and Primož Roglič built a lead, which was whittled down by the French team, led by Paul Seixas, and Isaac del Toro.
A flurry of frantic accelerations and regroupings at the front made for a frenetic, thrilling race, with the USA well placed with three of the leading 13 riders.
McNulty fired off the front with just over 30km to go and, despite brilliant surges from Ireland’s Ben Healy and Britain’s Tom Pidcock, the American soloed to victory.
Brandon McNulty is America’s third male world road race champion after Lance Armstrong and Greg Lemond. (Getty Images: Tim de Waele)
The 28-year-old American, who rides with Pogačar at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, is just the third American to win the men’s world road race title and the first since Lance Armstrong in Oslo in 1993.
“I’m really at a loss,” McNulty said.
“Until the last hundred metres, I didn’t believe it, I was so tired. I was just dying, but I kept pushing. We have said for weeks now that we had a super strong team. We talked about it, but I knew it would take a miracle. I guess miracles happen.”
