Michael Matthews has revealed that his darkest moment on the Tour de France provided the catalyst for his green jersey triumph.
The 26-year-old from Canberra became just the third Australian to top the points classification and first in 11 years in Paris on Sunday, following in the footsteps of Robbie McEwen (2002, '04 and '06) and Baden Cooke ('03).
His breakthrough success came 12 days after he was almost ready to concede defeat when a bungled sprint lead out on stage 10 saw him finish 13th as Marcel Kittel won yet another stage to lead by over 100 points.
Ultimately, five-stage winner Kittel was forced out of the tour by injury on stage 17, but only after Matthews had won two stages and ridden so well, closing the gap so that a deciding final stage sprint down the Champs-Elysees seemed a real prospect.
Matthews said the mess up on stage 10 prompted a rethink at Team Sunweb, which went on to enjoy great success and Matthews' French teammate and roommate Warren Barguil also won two stages, prevailing in the mountains and clinching the polka dot jersey for best climber.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"That (stage 10) was one point where I thought it was really over, my chance to win this jersey," said Matthews.
"I think we were 160 points behind at that point. We had a big discussion with the team with what we were going to do - which jersey we were going to fight for.
"In the end, we tried for both (green and polka dot jersey). Somehow, some way we pulled it off and it's a really special feeling.
"I don't really have any words, really. Everyting just sort of fell into place.
Our (Matthews and Warren Barguil's) dreams just started coming true at the same time. I think me helping him also helped him achieve his dreams too."
Matthews' performance at this year's Tour further establishes him among the high-profile sprinters of the sport, including Slovak world champion Peter Sagan, who was disqualified from the Tour for a crash which eliminated fellow green jersey contender Mark Cavendish during the sprint finish on stage four.
