Win machine Matthews claims Eschborn-Frankfurt sprint
Australian cyclist Michael Matthews finished his Spring campaign in style with victory in the Eschborn-Frankfurt one-day race on Thursday ahead of Uno-X Mobility's Magnus Cort Nielsen and Movistar's third-placed Jon Barrenetxea.
The 34-year-old Jayco AlUla cyclist sprinted to his 43rd career win after his team split the peloton at the tough, hilly section of the 198 km race known as the 'German Classic'.
A four-times Tour de France stage-winner, Matthews burnished his impressive record of winning at least one race in each of his last 16 seasons barring COVID-hit 2021.
"I think my shape through the Spring was good, I just wasn't on the top step," said Matthews, who was fourth in Milan-San Remo and fifth at the Amstel Gold Race this season.
"It's nice to finish off this block with a win here in Frankfurt.
"It's a race that has really suited me for a lot of years and I haven't been able to win it, so to come here with the team and the way we rode – we rode perfectly – and to execute a performance like my team did today it was the icing on top of the cake."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Blues surge into Super Rugby semi-final grudge match with Crusaders
The Auckland Blues threw a huge spanner into the works of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs last week and on Friday will be out to do what no team has done in three decades of the competition as they battle for a spot in the final. The defending champion Blues scraped into the playoffs with only six wins from 14 regular season games but hit their powerful stride last week to pip the top-seeded Waikato Chiefs by a point in Hamilton. That earned them a trip to Christchurch to face the 12-times champion Crusaders, who last week extended their perfect home playoff record to 30 games with a convincing victory over the Queensland Reds. The Crusaders are now the top seeds and will host the final if they can get past Vern Cotter's side in the latest edition of New Zealand's biggest grudge match, a fierce provincial rivalry that long precedes Super Rugby. "There's been a Crusaders-Blues rivalry since Super began, but I think what's really etched into that, and runs right through that, is the Canterbury-Auckland rivalry," Crusaders assistant Brad Mooar said on Thursday. "The icons of the game have had moments in those games and now it's this group's opportunity to be in the sun. The eyes are shining, lump in the throat." Crusaders coach Rob Penney has made one enforced change for the clash with injured loosehead prop Tamaiti Williams replaced by fellow All Black George Bower. The Blues also made one change, Zarn Sullivan replacing Corey Evans at fullback. "We're putting things together at the right time of the year," said Cotter. "The guys know how to win big games and that's our goal again on Friday night." The Chiefs, runners-up for the last two years, are still alive in the competition as "lucky losers" and they host the ACT Brumbies at Waikato Stadium in Saturday's second semi-final. The Brumbies, as with all Australian teams, have never won a playoff match in New Zealand but feel their win over the Wellington Hurricanes last week shows they have the stuff to break their run of three consecutive semi-final losses. "There's full belief that if we come out on Saturday and deliver our game, we're able to put in a good performance," Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa said on Thursday. "(It'll be) a physical game, for sure. It's going to be one on small margins, the physicality around the breakdown, and your carry intent. It's going to be a good battle." The Brumbies have named an unchanged team studded with Wallabies as they look for their first win over the Chiefs in three years. Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan has captain Luke Jacobson back at flanker after injury and was able to name Quinn Tupaea in his side after the All Blacks centre recovered from a nasty gash to his eye and concussion. "They're hardened, well-drilled and know how to close out a tight contest," McMillan said of the Brumbies. "Their performance against the Hurricanes shows they can be clinical and composed under pressure." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Independent Singapore
5 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Ivan Romeo won the third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné despite it being 'one of the toughest days' of his life
Ivan Romeo, racing for Movistar, has won stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné after he rode alone to the finish line. The athlete has pulled ahead of a group of riders with about 6km left in the race at the 202.8km stage from Briode. Some riders, led by Mathieu van der Poel who led the group, had tried to catch him, but they were too late. In the end, Romeo finished the race 14 seconds in the town of Charantonnay ahead of Harold Tejada, Louis Barre, and Florian Lipowitz. This marks the Spaniard's second professional win and is now the overall lead, taking the yellow jersey from stage two's winner, Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan. 'I don't believe it… It was one of the toughest days of my life so far,' Romeo shared. He added, 'The breakaway, it was so hard to get into it, and I wasn't feeling really good, so I waited to the last moment. I know in this kind of flat finish in a small break, I have good instinct, and that if they give me some seconds, I can make it.' 'I've been thinking about this stage for a month now. I can hardly believe it. It was one of the hardest days of my life, I wasn't feeling well… But I followed my instincts in the final. It's the best day of the year for me. Hard work pays off.' Highlights of the race Romeo finished the race with a final time of 4 hours, 34 minutes, and 10 seconds. Harold Tejada, who is riding for Astana, placed second, 14 seconds behind. Frenchman Louis Barre, who was riding for Intermarché, placed third. Moreover, the other group of riders, which included some of the race's favourites, arrived at the finish line over a minute later. During the race, a breakaway group of 13 riders were formed as the race heated up on the Côte du Château Jaune, a steep climb with a 9% average gradient, located 19km from the finish. After this climb, 10 riders remained to lead the group. Van der Poel was likely to win due to his speed, but Romeo attacked with 9 km to go, then made a move that resulted in a large gap, securing his solo victory. In a social media post, Romeo shared his win with the caption: 'This is what we live for 💭🤝🏼 Still sinking in, yellow jersey, just thanks for always believing' Netizens showed their support in the comments and said: 'Sooo niceeee!!! 👏🙌', 'It's not the outcome, it's how you did it.. 🙌👏💪', and 'Legend, congrats mate👌🏻' Here is the list of the stage three winners: Ivan Romeo (Spa/Movistar) 4hrs 34mins 10secs Harold Tejada (Col/XDS Astana) +14secs Louis Barre (Fra/Intermarche-Wanty) Same time Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +27secs Axel Laurance (Fra/Ineos Grenadiers) Same time Brieuc Rolland (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) Julien Bernard (Fra/Lidl-Trek) Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) Eddie Dunbar (Irl/Jayco-AlUla) After the results of stage three, here are the rankings forthe general classification: Ivan Romeo (Spa/Movistar) 14hrs 9mins 1sec Louis Barre (Fra/Intermarche-Wanty) +17secs Harold Tejada (Col/XDS Astana) +18secs Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) +24secs Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +29secs Eddie Dunbar (Irl/Jayco-AlUla) +37secs Brieuc Rolland (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) Same time Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1min 6secs Fred Wright (GB/Bahrain Victorious) +1min 12secs
Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Straits Times
Olympic champ O'Callaghan in tears after 200m freestyle win at Australian trials
ADELAIDE – Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan choked back tears after clocking the year's fastest 200m freestyle at the Australian trials on June 11, with the young star admitting it had been hard coping since the Paris Games. The 21-year-old surged to the wall in Adelaide in 1min 54.43secs to easily qualify for next month's Singapore world championships, where she will be the red-hot favourite. She became emotional during her poolside interview about the 'rough couple of months' coming down from the high of the Olympics, where she won three golds, a silver and a bronze medals. 'You know, it was really stressful for me. And I think even though it's not the time I exactly wanted, it's just hard to, like, come back,' she said as the tears flowed. 'I'd say this lead-up has been the hardest thing I've experienced so far. 'I don't think there's been anything as hard as this, coming here and trying to race and trying to, you know, defend my Olympic status in a way. 'But just happy that I stood up and just raced my main event.' O'Callaghan arrived in Paris with her 200m freestyle world record just broken by fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus and under enormous pressure. She rose to the occasion, edging Titmus to win gold. She was also a key part of Australia's 4×100m freestyle and 4×200m freestyle gold-medal winning teams. O'Callaghan and Titmus, who is on a season-long break, share the 10 fastest times in history. 'It's a really tough thing to take on. You feel once you become an Olympic champion, you're expected to perform every single meet,' said Titmus, who was commentating on the race. 'And athletes, of course, we're incredible at what we do, but we're also humans first, and I think it's really important to let people in on that. I know exactly how Mollie feels.' O'Callaghan has also qualified for the 50m and 100m backstroke but is yet to decide whether she will race them in Singapore, with the 50m and 100m free, along with the relays, also on her radar. Lani Pallister came second in 1:54.89 with all eight finalists underneath the qualifying time, once again reinforcing Australia's seemingly endless factory line of top women freestylers. Another Paris Olympic champion, Cam McEvoy, clocked a blistering 21.30sec to win the 50m freestyle ahead of Kyle Chalmers (21.68sec). 'Honestly, I can't really fault that at all. Just stoked to hit 21 three again,' said McEvoy, who is heading to his seventh world championships. In other races, 16-year-old Sienna Toohey backed up her breakthrough swim in the 100m breaststroke on June 10 by winning the 50m breaststroke. She was just outside the qualifying time, but will almost certainly suit up over 50m in Singapore given she has already booked her 100m ticket. Harrison Turner (1:54.90) made the grade in the men's 200m butterfly, while Sam Short (7:40.95) was in ominous form to take out the men's 800m freestyle. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
