Tour de France green jersey winner Michael Matthews is "coming home" to Mitchelton-Scott next year after he sought a release from the final year of his Team Sunweb contract.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Matthews will continue with Sunweb for the rest of the 2020 campaign before switching to the Australian team on a two-year contract.
The 29-year-old, who won the Tour's green jersey for sprinters in 2017, felt his own goals no longer aligned with Sunweb's - highlighted by the fact he was left out of this year's Tour de France, which started on Saturday.
Matthews spent the coronavirus lockdown preparing for the Tour only to find out he was going to the Giro d'Italia instead.
He then asked to be allowed to explore his options.
"[Sunweb] is very ambitious and increasingly want to work with a broader collective of riders deeper in the finales of classics and sprint races," he said.
"Those tactics do not ideally fit with my ambitions and specific strengths to sprint for the wins.
"For that reason, I decided to ask permission to investigate opportunities to look for a different team and I appreciate that Team Sunweb was open for this.
"I always have been very happy with the team's professional environment and the wealth of knowledge that they have.
"I hope that I can find a similar environment in my next team. Through the years we have achieved amazing things together which I am very proud of.
"These memories will stay in my mind forever and I am very thankful to the team for that."
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
Matthews spent four seasons with Mitchelton-Scott, then known as Orica-GreenEdge, from 2013-16 before moving to Sunweb for the past four years.
He said his return felt like he was coming home.
"The opportunity was there to come back and you have to take them when they are there," Matthews said.
"At this moment in my career it just felt right, and the team has welcomed me back with open arms which is really special.
"[Team owner] Gerry Ryan supported me through my under-19, under-23 days and also in helping me turn professional, so it just feels like coming home.
"I want to get my own results, but also to be a part of the team that has [general classification] goals as well.
"We will have Simon Yates that can win the biggest grand tour's in the world and I would love to be part of that and there's some young guys coming through, to help them progress too.
"I wouldn't put it down to one particular race or result to make the next two years successful, but I want to progress as a rider and as a teammate, and enjoy races."
David Polkinghorne
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
