Matthews' first Strade Bianche ends with stitches

SIENA ITALY MARCH 05 Michael Matthews of Australia and Team Bikeexchange Jayco after being involved in a crash during the Eroica 16th Strade Bianche 2022 Mens Elite a 184km one day race from Siena to Siena Piazza del Campo 321m StradeBianche WorldTour on March 05 2022 in Siena Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) on the roadside after being caught up in the mass crash at Strade Bianche 2022 (Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)

Michael Matthews this year finally had his chance at Strade Bianche but the BikeExchange-Jayco rider certainly didn’t get the debut he had hoped for on the white gravel roads of the Tuscan hills.

A huge crash caught up many of the favourites at about 100km to go and, while initially the Australian rider thought he may be able to get through unscathed, he soon joined the likes of World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) on the ground.

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Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.