Michael Matthews, who finished second in the Tour de France uphill longwy, slapped his handlebars in frustration after a moment of hesitation and a wheel-loss by Tadej Pogachar on the exit of the final corner robbed him of his chance to win.

Matthews put up a long, hard effort into the headwind, passing many of his rivals who stood in his way, but was unable to close the gap to Pogachal.

It was another frustrating finish for Matthews, who had four top-five finishes in the 2021 Tour de France and a similarly strong showing in the Vuelta a España, but could not muster a victory that would inspire the sprinter's ambition and confidence.

"I tried everything today, but in the end I finished second," Matthews said after hugging his best friend Pogachar to celebrate his victory.

"The team did a great job to get me to the final and all day long. In the final, I just had to believe. In the final, I just had to believe in myself and fight for the win."

"I knew I should be on Taddei's wheel. I think Pidcock was fighting with me too. I think it was a battle between Pidcock and me for the wheel. I thought I was a little bit too far ahead, so I put him in, but he couldn't keep up with the wheels in the race, and Taddei was able to make up the gap. That's how Taddeji got the gap on me."

Matt White, head sport director of BikeExchange-Jayco, stressed that positioning was the difference in the sprint.

"If Matthews had been on Pogachar's wheel in the last corner, he could have done better. [Michael got squeezed a little bit on the entry of the corner and with Pogachar's acceleration, he was just a little bit over-paced. When the final sprint started, (Dani) Martinez and (Nairo) Quintana were in front of him.

"He had to pass four guys, he passed three, but he couldn't catch Pogachar. If he had stayed behind Pogachar, he could have beaten Pogachar. But you can't let the best climber in the world get ahead of you with 250m to go."

White made it clear that Matthews would have the opportunity to fight for victory in the remaining races of the Tour de France.

Bike Exchange-Jayco is not competing for the overall and instead has built its team around pure sprinters Dylan Groenewegen and Matthews. Groenewegen won in Sønderborg. Now the Australian team is looking forward to Matthews' success.

"It's not his last chance," White said, suggesting that Matthews is mentally strong and will continue to fight in the Tour de France. [Michael wants a stage win more than anyone else. This was his chance, but he still has a chance."