Michael Matthews 'unlucky' but on form during wet Tour Down Under opener

Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) finished top 10 in the Tour Down Under prologue despite racing when the roads were at their wettest
Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) finished top 10 in the Tour Down Under prologue despite racing when the roads were at their wettest (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Michael Matthews began his return to the Tour Down Under with a strong ride in Tuesday's rain-soaked prologue, racing to 10th place in Adelaide to lead Jayco-AlUla's two-pronged attack into the week.

Matthews, who hails from Canberra, hasn't taken part in his home race since the 2014 season but showed he meant business from the off, recording the strongest time in over an hour when he took on the wet 5.5km course.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.