Image 1 of 5 Michael Matthews (Australia) with his bronze medal (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 2 of 5 Michael Matthews (Sunweb) wins the final stage at BinckBank Tour (Image credit: Getty Images) Image 3 of 5 Michael Matthews (Australia) on the 2017 Worlds podium (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 4 of 5 Michael Matthews (Sunweb) wins the final stage at BinckBank Tour (Image credit: Getty Images) Image 5 of 5 Michael Matthews at the Team Sunweb training camp (Image credit: Team Sunweb)

Cyclingnews is in Canada, ahead of the two WorldTour races, and we’ll be bringing you several podcasts over the coming days. First up, we have an exclusive interview with Michael Matthews from Team Sunweb.

The Australian has had a difficult year beset by injury, illness, and bad luck. We sat down with him in the centre of Quebec’s old town to talk about his season.

Matthews provides a very personal, honest and open account about his mental and physical battles during his lowest points of the year, and his heartbreak at missing the selection for the Worlds team, where he was willing to sacrifice everything for his friend and national teammate, Richie Porte.

The former Tour de France green jersey winner shares his setbacks, which include riding with the wrong saddle height for the majority of the season, how he shut down after the disappointment of abandoning the Tour, and how those closest to him helped him rediscover his passion and love for the bike.

What also comes across is how level-headed and he is, and that despite his knocks this season he’s still hungry to win again. He starts the Canadian races as one of the main favourities, and we talk about the remaining goals he has for the year.

This podcast is brought to you in association with Predas Ciclismo, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville.



