Michael Matthews couldn't hold his handlebar properly after hitting a wall, but it didn't stop the Canberra cyclist from claiming a spot on the Milan-Sanremo podium in Italy on Sunday.
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It was the Team Sunweb sprint star's first race since coronavirus shutdown the World Tour, with the 29-year-old winning the bunch sprint to claim third.
Belgian Wout van Aert won the Monument classic, beating defending champion Julian Alaphilippe in a tight sprint after the two broke away from the rest of the field on the famous Poggio climb.
That's where Matthews hurt himself as he tried to follow Alaphilippe's attack before scraping his hand and shoulder against a wall.
He was unable to go with the break, but managed to launch a withering sprint finish to close the gap to just two seconds on the line.
The Milan-Samremo was meant to be held in March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Matthews wore a face mask on the podium, with the Canberran having previously spoken of his concerns over the tour resuming too soon given he has a young family.
"Other guys were just in front of me attacking and I also wanted to go and follow them," he said after the race.
"The door then closed in front of me against the wall, and I scraped my shoulder and hand against the wall.
"From that point I couldn't actually hold my handlebar properly with my hand, but I knew the team did such a great job today so I didn't want to give up.
"Obviously I wanted to win and I think I had the legs to do it, but this is racing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
"In the sprint at the end it was all or nothing to see what I could get out of the race after the crash - I think being on the podium is nice."
Team Jumbo-Visma's Van Aert added the Milan-Sanremo to the Strade Bianche classic he won last Saturday.
Van Aert could barely hold Alaphilippe's wheel at the top of the Poggio, but he managed to rein in the Deceuninck-Quick Step rider in the descent.
"On the Poggio I was on the limit. Alaphilippe went earlier than me and I could barely hold his wheel," Van Aert said.
"I had to give everything to come back in the descent. He played the sprint good, too." with AAP.