Australian biking star Michael Matthews has earned arguably the best victory of his profession, successful the 14th stage of the Tour de France after a rare breakaway effort.
Matthews, who final gained on the Tour 5 years in the past, improved on his two earlier second-place finishes on this yr’s version, breaking all his challengers on an exhausting 192.5-kilometre hilly experience from Saint Etienne to Mende.
Stage winner Michael Matthews celebrates as he crosses the end line. Credit score:
After kicking for residence from a breakaway some 52km from residence, Matthews needed to struggle again within the final two kilometres after being overtaken on a troublesome ascent to the end.
However the man from Canberra, competing for Australian outfit Crew BikeExchange-Jayco, roared previous Italian Alberto Bettiol once more to win by 15 seconds after four-and-a-half hours within the saddle on a draining, sun-baked day.
