Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) kicked off his 2026 season in flying fashion with victory at the Gran Premio Castellón-Ruta de la Cerámica, emerging from the bunch in first after a gruelling uphill sprint.
It's the second time Matthews has won the 1.1 one-day race in Castellón, repeating his form from the 2024 season and putting him in good standing for more solid results at the upcoming Challenge Mallorca.
A thrilling day of action came down to the uphill finale, with Pau Miquel (Bahrain-Victorious) and Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) the next best behind Matthews, who was the clear winner in the sprint.
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"Yesterday I crashed after 25 kilometres [at the Classica Camp de Morvedre], and it was a bit of a bad start to 2026, so coming back to a race I've won in the past always gives extra motivation.
"The boys rode super well yesterday and today, and to finish it off after such a good team effort was the cherry on the cake. My wounds were still a bit sore, so I just tried to save as much energy as I could for the final. I did my sprint, and it worked out.
"On the last climb, I knew the legs were good. Guys were attacking but I had a good team to support me on the downhill to the finish. I think we did everything today, rode from the start to the finish and used every one of our guys to get the victory.
"My daughter's eighth birthday is tomorrow, and I'm not able to be there, so this is for her."
An early breakaway of six led for most of the 171-kilometre race in eastern Spain, with Jasper Schoofs (Soudal-QuickStep), Carlos García Pierna (Burgos BH), Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel Euskadi), Márton Dina (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort), Kenny Molly (Van Rysel Roubaix) and Enzo Leijnse (Anicolor) building a lead of six minutes at its largest.
Jayco AlUla were one of the main teams pacing throughout the day, but the action kicked off properly over the final climb – Collado de Ayódar (5km at 4.5%) – where Leijnse was the last man standing until 13 kilometres to go.
The most significant attack came from Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who was followed by Christian Scaroni, Guillermo Thomas Silva (both XDS Astana) and Héctor Álvarez (Spain) in a move over the top.
Though the quartet crested the climb with an advantage, it became clear they weren't going to survive the downhill and then flat approach into the final uphill rise to the line, with Silva the last out there, but as no real threat to the win.
With the Uruguayan champion eventually reeled back in, focus turned back to the sprint, and the tension resulted in a couple of minor crashes in the final few corners, but without any of the main favourites affected.
Unibet and Movistar held front position leading into the uphill rise, but Matthews was lurking in the wheels and kicked out with big power to establish a slim lead, which he held all the way over the line with time to celebrate.
It's been a long road back to his best after a real health scare during the 2025 season, when the team discovered 'signs of a pulmonary embolism'. Matthews extended his contract at Jayco AlUla for another two years after a successful return to racing in the latter half of the season, and looks on track to be back at full capacity already.
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