Why Aussie is smiling after confusing 267km finish

UCI Road World Championships bronze medalist Michael Matthews conceded helium had nary thought what presumption helium was racing for successful a thrilling decorativeness to the men's elite roadworthy race.

The Australian was portion of the peloton that caught the pursuit radical squabbling implicit the last 2 places connected the podium successful the dying moments of the mammoth 266.9km race.

Unbeknown to them, Belgium rider Remco Evenepoel had blitzed the tract and streaked distant to a pb of much than 2 minutes. 

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Michael Matthews of Australia connected the podium. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Evenepoel made his determination with 2 laps to spell connected the streets of Wollongong, leaving the remainder to combat implicit 2nd and third.

Initially, a tightly packed radical looked similar they would combat implicit the past podium spots until they baulked and the peloton caught up.

But the radical were nary the wiser arsenic to which positions they were vying for.

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"We were benignant of talking successful the peloton if we were inactive racing for thing due to the fact that we didn't cognize precisely wherever anyone was and it's truly hard to get accusation successful a satellite championship," Matthews said.

"There was inactive attacking connected the last ascent up Mount Pleasant, truthful the contention was inactive on. And past we conscionable benignant of kept catching bunches towards adjacent the past 500m of the race.

"I deliberation we were inactive not adjacent sprinting for apical 10, but past I saw the French squad lining up for [Christophe] Laporte for the lead-out for him and I jumped connected the backmost of that and did my happening successful the sprint.

The thrilling decorativeness for 2nd successful the Men's Elite Road Race saw Michael Matthews assertion bronze successful Wollongong. (Getty)

"But adjacent afterwards I didn't cognize precisely wherever I finished. I recovered retired a mates of minutes aboriginal that I was really third."

The Canberra-born rider had to hold much than a infinitesimal earlier uncovering retired wherever helium had finished.

It's the 3rd clip Matthews has finished connected the podium successful a UCI Road World Championships event.

However, the golden medal astatine the elite level continues to elude the 32-year-old.

Matthews claimed metallic successful the 2015 variation successful the United States, bronze successful 2017 successful Norway, and present bronze again this twelvemonth connected location soil.

"I've been 2nd before, but that 2nd was besides rather a agelong mode distant similar this 1 was," Matthews said.

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"The level of cycling astatine the infinitesimal is truthful high. It's unthinkable to beryllium up present with this bronze medal. Obviously, we came present for the rainbow stripes connected location ungraded but coming distant with a 3rd spot decidedly feels similar a win."

Beyond Matthews, Jai Hindley and Simon Clarke were the adjacent champion finishers for Australia successful 49th and 50th respectively.

Heinrich Haussler was 67th, Nicholas Schultz was 91st, portion Lucas Plapp, Ben O'Connor and Luke Durbridge failed to finish.

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Next year's UCI Road World Championships volition signifier portion of the all-new UCI Cycling World Championships.

The UCI Cycling World Championships volition beryllium held each 4 years successful the twelvemonth anterior to the Summer Olympic Games. 

The inaugural variation volition instrumentality spot successful Glasgow, Scotland connected August 3-13 and includes the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and UCI Track Cycling World Championships among different titles.

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