Michael Matthews ends run of Tour de France bad luck with Stage 10 win

REVEL, France - After so much bad luck at the Tour de France, Michael Matthews believed he was jinxed.

Two years ago, the Australian rider crashed days before he was scheduled to take a flight to the start of the Tour in England and had to pull out before the race.

Matthews eventually made his debut at cycling’s biggest race last year but broke four ribs in a crash in the third stage, and struggled until the finish on the Champs-Elysees.

This month, the Australian crashed twice and thought about retiring on Sunday after the toughest Pyrenean stage.

No wonder he struggled to believe that he finally won a Tour stage on Tuesday.

“It’s unbelievable. I was close to giving in at this race,” Matthews said after edging world champion Peter Sagan in the southern town of Revel.

“I thought maybe this race is not for me, and I’d focus on other races. But today my dream comes true. I just won a stage of the Tour de France after two really bad years in this race.”

Matthews, who was also involved in the high-speed crash in the Milan-San Remo classic this season, profited from the work of his teammates to win the 10th stage of the Tour after a long breakaway.

Sagan, who attacked from the start in the Andorran town of Escaldes-Engordany, rode at the front throughout the 197-kilometer trek in rainy conditions, but was overpowered in the final sprint.

He finished second, followed by Edvald Boasson Hagen.

With his morale low, Matthews said he was comforted by his wife during Monday’s rest day in Andorra.

“My wife and I had a good talk, and she really motivated me to keep pushing,” he said.

Finishing 9 minutes, 39 seconds behind in the main peloton, Chris Froome kept the yellow jersey. The two-time Tour champion has a 16-second overall lead over fellow Briton Adam Yates, with Irish rider Dan Martin in third place, 19 seconds behind. Froome’s main rival Nairo Quintana sits fourth, 23 seconds back.

A group of six riders including Matthews’ teammates Daryl Impey and Luke Durbridge fought for the stage victory in a frenzied finale.

Sagan tried to make the most of a small climb nine kilometers before the line but failed to surprise his rivals with his acceleration.

Impey countered the move, Durbridge then tried another attack to wear out Sagan, and the small group stayed compact until the final kilometer.

Impey then perfectly set up Matthews in the final section before Greg Van Avermaet launched the sprint in the final 200 meters. Matthews followed and easily passed Sagan to exact revenge after finishing runner-up to the Slovak in the world championships last year.

“We have such a strong group of guys here,” said Matthews, who has posted stage victories at all three Grand Tours. “The way we work as a team, whoever’s up on that day we give that rider 110 percent. You could see Luke Durbridge and Daryl Impey today, they gave me their everything. There are no words.”