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Globe and Mail
22-05-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
History was his first love, cycling his passion but Matthew Christian was a father first
Matthew St. John Kirkland Christian: Archeologist. History enthusiast. Cyclist. Dad. Born Sept. 9, 1972, in Moncton; died Oct. 19.,. 2024, in Hamilton, from multiple blood clots; aged 52. There is a photo of Matthew that the family loves. It shows him powering up a steep hill on his bike in Siena, other riders in his wake. He was competing in the amateur version of the Strade Bianche, a famous Italian one-day race. It had been a dream. In spite of jet lag and a rented bike, he finished in the top quarter of riders. Matthew loved cycling but his passion was archeology. As a young child in Sackville, N.B., he dug holes, put an object in, then excavated it. When the family moved to Guelph, Ont., he regularly presented science fair projects on the topic. At 16, he took a term off school to volunteer at the Museum of London, where he catalogued Roman pottery. With the money he earned, he bought a 19th-century cavalry sword. He received his BA from the University of Toronto (Trinity) and took an MA in archeology at the University of York. After graduation, he volunteered for a dig in Jordan, where the yellow scorpions were a bigger threat than the intense heat. Matthew worked as a freelance archaeologist for a few years, but career opportunities were limited. In high school, he had edited both the yearbook and literary magazine so decided to try publishing. Pearson (Canada), an international publisher of textbooks, hired him as a copy editor. When he left, he was head of sales and marketing. He had just accepted a new job applying AI to higher education when he died. Matthew was a member of the Guelph Cycling Club. Ontario's Paris to Ancaster annual race was his favourite. It paid homage to the classic Paris-Roubaix event, which took place on cobblestone roads, often made treacherous by rain. The Canadian version mimicked this over farm lanes, trails and gravel roads. If it didn't rain, Matthew felt he had missed the real experience. He was committed to the sport and if you wanted to know the results of the Tour de Turkiye or Milan-San Remo, you only needed to ask. He used a road bike but when he wanted an off-road bike, he built it from scratch with the help of a friend. Matthew's two children were born in Toronto. He was devoted to them and thought nothing of getting up at five to take his daughter (and her horse, Elo) to a riding competition. He was proud to see her compete at the provincial level, and later for the Dalhousie equestrian team. He drove his son to fencing lessons, introduced him to competitive cycling at the Winspace Criterium and, most fun of all, they played Dungeons and Dragons, a game that consumed his own youth. Recently, father and son visited Guatemala, where they climbed an active volcano and watched the sun rise from the top of a Mayan pyramid. One of Matthew's quirks, for which he was inexplicably proud, was rarely returning things he borrowed, especially books and tools. 'You know you'll probably never see this again,' he'd say with a grin. A lover of ancient history, the Anglo-Saxon period was his favourite. He was especially interested in the project to build a replica of the seventh-century Sutton Hoo burial ship in Suffolk, U.K. He volunteered to help raise funds for the effort, and as a memorial, one of the ship's oars will be engraved with his name. At suppertime in early October, his mother received a text. 'I'm not feeling well. Can you come and sit with me.' His family rushed over, and called 911. He was taken to hospital and wasn't expected to last a day, but he amazed the doctors by living for two weeks. He died surrounded by those he loved. The Guelph Cycling Club created an annual award in his memory. It will be given to a young rider who displays Matthew's qualities of 'a positive attitude, camaraderie and support for other team members.' His son has been promised one of his father's bikes and Matthew's brother, Adam, the other. Matthew's daughter continues to prefer horses. William Christian is Matthew Christian's father. To submit a Lives Lived: lives@ Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go online to
NBC Sports
19-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Del Toro becomes first Mexican to lead Giro d'Italia, Van Aert wins dusty stage
Isaac del Toro became the first Mexican cyclist to take the overall lead of the Giro d'Italia but the 21-year-old was beaten on the line by Wout van Aert in a tough and dusty ninth stage on Sunday that shook up the general classification. Van Aert edged out Del Toro in a sprint at the end of the 181-kilometer (112-mile) route from Gubbio to Siena, that included a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads of Tuscany. Giulio Ciccone was third, 58 seconds behind, on a disastrous day for pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic. It was Van Aert's first win of the season after the 30-year-old Belgian struggled with form following an injury-hit campaign last year. It was also Van Aert's first stage win in his Giro debut. He has won nine stages at the Tour de France, and three at the Spanish Vuelta. 'It's easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it,' Van Aert said. 'It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good.' The stage exploded into life in the first two of the five gravel sectors, with the dust and grit kicked up by the cyclists — and the race cars — swirling all around. Most of the six breakaway riders from the first half of the stage were caught on the first sector, with the rest swept up on the second, where Roglic was caught up in a crash. All those involved were swiftly back up but there was further disaster for Roglic shortly afterward as he had a puncture and had to change bikes. Up front, Del Toro and Van Aert attacked from a small group on the final sector, with about 15 kilometers remaining, and it appeared as if the young Mexican was heading for the biggest victory of his career before Van Aert came round him about 500 meters from the line. Del Toro has an overall lead of 1 minute, 13 seconds over UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Juan Ayuso, with Antonio Tiberi 17 seconds further back. Roglic — who had been third overall — slipped to 10th, 2:25 behind Del Toro. 'We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next,' Roglic said. 'We will see. I mean, we'll see at the end what that means.' Monday sees the race's second rest day before a 28.6-kilometer individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa The Giro ends in Rome on June 1.
Japan Today
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Today
Del Toro becomes first Mexican to lead Giro d'Italia, Van Aert wins dusty stage
Van Aert Wout of Team Visma | Lease A Bike during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/Lapresse via AP) cycling Isaac del Toro became the first Mexican cyclist to take the overall lead of the Giro d'Italia but the 21-year-old was beaten on the line by Wout van Aert in a tough and dusty ninth stage on Sunday that shook up the general classification. Van Aert edged out Del Toro in a sprint at the end of the 181-kilometer (112-mile) route from Gubbio to Siena, that included a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads of Tuscany. Giulio Ciccone was third, 58 seconds behind, on a disastrous day for pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic. The stage exploded into life in the first two of the five gravel sectors, with the dust and grit kicked up by the cyclists — and the race cars — swirling all around. Most of the six breakaway riders from the first half of the stage were caught on the first sector, with the rest swept up on the second, where Roglic was caught up in a crash. All those involved were swiftly back up but there was further disaster for Roglic shortly afterward as he had a puncture and had to change bikes. Up front, Del Toro and Van Aert attacked from a small group on the final sector, with about 15 kilometers remaining, and it appeared as if the young Mexican was heading for the biggest victory of his career before Van Aert came round him about 500 meters from the line. Del Toro has an overall lead of 1 minute, 13 seconds over UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Juan Ayuso, with Antonio Tiberi 17 seconds further back. Roglic — who had been third overall — slipped to 10th, 2:25 behind Del Toro. Monday sees the race's second rest day before a 28.6-kilometer individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa The Giro ends in Rome on June 1. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The Advertiser
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Roglic and Aussie hope Storer crash at Giro d'Italia
Australia's roller-coaster Giro d'Italia adventure has taken a turn for the worse after Michael Storer, their top hope for overall success, suffered a crash on a tough, dusty day that may have severely dented his hopes of grand tour success. Storer hit the deck with about 50km to go on the 181km ninth stage from Gubbio to Siena, that included some of the demanding white, gravel roads of Tuscany which are a feature of the region's famous Strade Bianche one-day race. The Tudor Pro leader remounted and battled home in 25th place, but he was nearly two-and-a-half minutes behind the stage winner, Wout van Aert, and dropped from sixth place overall to 11th, now three minutes and three seconds behind the surprise new young owner of the maglia rosa leader's jersey, Isaac del Toro. It was the latest drama to envelop an Australian rider after Jai Hindley's early abandonment and Kaden Groves' stage win, both on Thursday, and Luke Plapp's fantastic victory on Saturday. The 21-year-old del Toro, only supposed to be a support rider for UAE Team Emirates, became the first Mexican cyclist ever to lead the race even though he was beaten on the line for the stage win by van Aert after a terrific duel. But the bigger dramas had also erupted behind as not just Storer, but other major contenders - headed by race favourite Primoz Roglic - suffered crashes. In the five-time Grand Tour winner's case, Roglic not only tumbled on the second of the five gravel sectors amid the dust and grit being kicked up by the cyclists, but he also suffered a puncture soon afterwards and had to change bikes. Roglic ended up finishing 2:22 on the day and has dropped from second overall to 10th, 2:25 behind the leader but, more significantly, 1:12 behind the man considered his main challenger for the crown, Spain's Juan Ayuso, who's lying second overall behind his UAE lieutenant del Toro. "We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next," said the imperturbable Roglic. "We will see. I mean, we'll see at the end what that means." After the crash chaos which also caught up luminaries like Tom Pidcock and Brandon McNulty, there was only delight for van Aert, one of the stars of the sport, as he enjoyed his first win of the season, a redemptive ride after an injury-hit 2024 campaign and an unconvincing start to 2025. It was the 30-year-old's first stage win on his Giro debut to go with his nine stage wins at the Tour de France and three at the Spanish Vuelta. "It's easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it," the emotional Belgian said. "It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good." Monday is the race's second rest day before a 28.6km individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa when Roglic will be fancied to claw back time. With agencies Australia's roller-coaster Giro d'Italia adventure has taken a turn for the worse after Michael Storer, their top hope for overall success, suffered a crash on a tough, dusty day that may have severely dented his hopes of grand tour success. Storer hit the deck with about 50km to go on the 181km ninth stage from Gubbio to Siena, that included some of the demanding white, gravel roads of Tuscany which are a feature of the region's famous Strade Bianche one-day race. The Tudor Pro leader remounted and battled home in 25th place, but he was nearly two-and-a-half minutes behind the stage winner, Wout van Aert, and dropped from sixth place overall to 11th, now three minutes and three seconds behind the surprise new young owner of the maglia rosa leader's jersey, Isaac del Toro. It was the latest drama to envelop an Australian rider after Jai Hindley's early abandonment and Kaden Groves' stage win, both on Thursday, and Luke Plapp's fantastic victory on Saturday. The 21-year-old del Toro, only supposed to be a support rider for UAE Team Emirates, became the first Mexican cyclist ever to lead the race even though he was beaten on the line for the stage win by van Aert after a terrific duel. But the bigger dramas had also erupted behind as not just Storer, but other major contenders - headed by race favourite Primoz Roglic - suffered crashes. In the five-time Grand Tour winner's case, Roglic not only tumbled on the second of the five gravel sectors amid the dust and grit being kicked up by the cyclists, but he also suffered a puncture soon afterwards and had to change bikes. Roglic ended up finishing 2:22 on the day and has dropped from second overall to 10th, 2:25 behind the leader but, more significantly, 1:12 behind the man considered his main challenger for the crown, Spain's Juan Ayuso, who's lying second overall behind his UAE lieutenant del Toro. "We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next," said the imperturbable Roglic. "We will see. I mean, we'll see at the end what that means." After the crash chaos which also caught up luminaries like Tom Pidcock and Brandon McNulty, there was only delight for van Aert, one of the stars of the sport, as he enjoyed his first win of the season, a redemptive ride after an injury-hit 2024 campaign and an unconvincing start to 2025. It was the 30-year-old's first stage win on his Giro debut to go with his nine stage wins at the Tour de France and three at the Spanish Vuelta. "It's easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it," the emotional Belgian said. "It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good." Monday is the race's second rest day before a 28.6km individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa when Roglic will be fancied to claw back time. With agencies Australia's roller-coaster Giro d'Italia adventure has taken a turn for the worse after Michael Storer, their top hope for overall success, suffered a crash on a tough, dusty day that may have severely dented his hopes of grand tour success. Storer hit the deck with about 50km to go on the 181km ninth stage from Gubbio to Siena, that included some of the demanding white, gravel roads of Tuscany which are a feature of the region's famous Strade Bianche one-day race. The Tudor Pro leader remounted and battled home in 25th place, but he was nearly two-and-a-half minutes behind the stage winner, Wout van Aert, and dropped from sixth place overall to 11th, now three minutes and three seconds behind the surprise new young owner of the maglia rosa leader's jersey, Isaac del Toro. It was the latest drama to envelop an Australian rider after Jai Hindley's early abandonment and Kaden Groves' stage win, both on Thursday, and Luke Plapp's fantastic victory on Saturday. The 21-year-old del Toro, only supposed to be a support rider for UAE Team Emirates, became the first Mexican cyclist ever to lead the race even though he was beaten on the line for the stage win by van Aert after a terrific duel. But the bigger dramas had also erupted behind as not just Storer, but other major contenders - headed by race favourite Primoz Roglic - suffered crashes. In the five-time Grand Tour winner's case, Roglic not only tumbled on the second of the five gravel sectors amid the dust and grit being kicked up by the cyclists, but he also suffered a puncture soon afterwards and had to change bikes. Roglic ended up finishing 2:22 on the day and has dropped from second overall to 10th, 2:25 behind the leader but, more significantly, 1:12 behind the man considered his main challenger for the crown, Spain's Juan Ayuso, who's lying second overall behind his UAE lieutenant del Toro. "We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next," said the imperturbable Roglic. "We will see. I mean, we'll see at the end what that means." After the crash chaos which also caught up luminaries like Tom Pidcock and Brandon McNulty, there was only delight for van Aert, one of the stars of the sport, as he enjoyed his first win of the season, a redemptive ride after an injury-hit 2024 campaign and an unconvincing start to 2025. It was the 30-year-old's first stage win on his Giro debut to go with his nine stage wins at the Tour de France and three at the Spanish Vuelta. "It's easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it," the emotional Belgian said. "It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good." Monday is the race's second rest day before a 28.6km individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa when Roglic will be fancied to claw back time. With agencies Australia's roller-coaster Giro d'Italia adventure has taken a turn for the worse after Michael Storer, their top hope for overall success, suffered a crash on a tough, dusty day that may have severely dented his hopes of grand tour success. Storer hit the deck with about 50km to go on the 181km ninth stage from Gubbio to Siena, that included some of the demanding white, gravel roads of Tuscany which are a feature of the region's famous Strade Bianche one-day race. The Tudor Pro leader remounted and battled home in 25th place, but he was nearly two-and-a-half minutes behind the stage winner, Wout van Aert, and dropped from sixth place overall to 11th, now three minutes and three seconds behind the surprise new young owner of the maglia rosa leader's jersey, Isaac del Toro. It was the latest drama to envelop an Australian rider after Jai Hindley's early abandonment and Kaden Groves' stage win, both on Thursday, and Luke Plapp's fantastic victory on Saturday. The 21-year-old del Toro, only supposed to be a support rider for UAE Team Emirates, became the first Mexican cyclist ever to lead the race even though he was beaten on the line for the stage win by van Aert after a terrific duel. But the bigger dramas had also erupted behind as not just Storer, but other major contenders - headed by race favourite Primoz Roglic - suffered crashes. In the five-time Grand Tour winner's case, Roglic not only tumbled on the second of the five gravel sectors amid the dust and grit being kicked up by the cyclists, but he also suffered a puncture soon afterwards and had to change bikes. Roglic ended up finishing 2:22 on the day and has dropped from second overall to 10th, 2:25 behind the leader but, more significantly, 1:12 behind the man considered his main challenger for the crown, Spain's Juan Ayuso, who's lying second overall behind his UAE lieutenant del Toro. "We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next," said the imperturbable Roglic. "We will see. I mean, we'll see at the end what that means." After the crash chaos which also caught up luminaries like Tom Pidcock and Brandon McNulty, there was only delight for van Aert, one of the stars of the sport, as he enjoyed his first win of the season, a redemptive ride after an injury-hit 2024 campaign and an unconvincing start to 2025. It was the 30-year-old's first stage win on his Giro debut to go with his nine stage wins at the Tour de France and three at the Spanish Vuelta. "It's easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it," the emotional Belgian said. "It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good." Monday is the race's second rest day before a 28.6km individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa when Roglic will be fancied to claw back time. With agencies
West Australian
18-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Roglic and Aussie hope Storer crash at Giro d'Italia
Australia's roller-coaster Giro d'Italia adventure has taken a turn for the worse after Michael Storer, their top hope for overall success, suffered a crash on a tough, dusty day that may have severely dented his hopes of grand tour success. Storer hit the deck with about 50km to go on the 181km ninth stage from Gubbio to Siena, that included some of the demanding white, gravel roads of Tuscany which are a feature of the region's famous Strade Bianche one-day race. The Tudor Pro leader remounted and battled home in 25th place, but he was nearly two-and-a-half minutes behind the stage winner, Wout van Aert, and dropped from sixth place overall to 11th, now three minutes and three seconds behind the surprise new young owner of the maglia rosa leader's jersey, Isaac del Toro. It was the latest drama to envelop an Australian rider after Jai Hindley's early abandonment and Kaden Groves' stage win, both on Thursday, and Luke Plapp's fantastic victory on Saturday. The 21-year-old del Toro, only supposed to be a support rider for UAE Team Emirates, became the first Mexican cyclist ever to lead the race even though he was beaten on the line for the stage win by van Aert after a terrific duel. But the bigger dramas had also erupted behind as not just Storer, but other major contenders - headed by race favourite Primoz Roglic - suffered crashes. In the five-time Grand Tour winner's case, Roglic not only tumbled on the second of the five gravel sectors amid the dust and grit being kicked up by the cyclists, but he also suffered a puncture soon afterwards and had to change bikes. Roglic ended up finishing 2:22 on the day and has dropped from second overall to 10th, 2:25 behind the leader but, more significantly, 1:12 behind the man considered his main challenger for the crown, Spain's Juan Ayuso, who's lying second overall behind his UAE lieutenant del Toro. "We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next," said the imperturbable Roglic. "We will see. I mean, we'll see at the end what that means." After the crash chaos which also caught up luminaries like Tom Pidcock and Brandon McNulty, there was only delight for van Aert, one of the stars of the sport, as he enjoyed his first win of the season, a redemptive ride after an injury-hit 2024 campaign and an unconvincing start to 2025. It was the 30-year-old's first stage win on his Giro debut to go with his nine stage wins at the Tour de France and three at the Spanish Vuelta. "It's easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it," the emotional Belgian said. "It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good." Monday is the race's second rest day before a 28.6km individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa when Roglic will be fancied to claw back time. With agencies
