For Michael Matthews (Jayco Alula), his third victory in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec was an emotional one.

Matthews, who had clinched victory in Quebec, held up three fingers on the finish line and sprinted furiously with 300 meters to go.

“This is for my grandma, who passed away last Wednesday, and I saw her funeral online two days ago in Quebec. So to be honest, I'm very emotional about today's win,” Matthews said at the victory press conference. [If I hadn't won today, what would it have meant to be so far away from my family during this difficult time?

It was Matthews' second win of the season and a stunning victory over such powerhouses as three-time Tour de France stage winner Biniam Girmay (Intermarché Wanty) and Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates). Matthews was delighted to be back on top again.

“First of all, to win here today is something special. I had a really good classic in San Remo, where I finished second by a tire, and in Flanders, where I was on the podium before being relegated. Then came the TDF in Switzerland and the Olympics, which unfortunately didn't go as planned,” Matthews said of his struggles in 2024. [After the Olympics, I knew I had a good chance to win again in Quebec and Montreal.

Being selected to represent Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics was a dream come true in itself, but it was not a fairytale debut for Matthews, who only finished 15th.

“I've been unsuccessful the last couple of times [at the Olympics], so it was my dream to go to Paris and get the opportunity to lead the Australian cycling world. But I wanted more than that,” the 33-year-old said.

“Since then, I've basically gone back to training at altitude and just trained hard. I would ride my bike all day, get sore, go home and switch to my mountain bike and ride all afternoon.

This was more than reward enough for Matthews, and he probably shocked even himself when he was able to maintain his powerful, perfectly timed sprint to the line in Quebec and add another victory in this race that he celebrated on the line in 2018 and 2019 He would have given himself a shock.

“I've won here twice before, so I know what to do and what it takes.

“But once I passed the trio of Pogachar, De Lier, and one of my Belgian champion teammates and actually took the lead, my confidence returned and I never seemed to lose it.

“In these sprints, for some reason it's always in slow motion. I don't know why, but I love these uphill one-on-one sprints.

“Once I set up the sprint, it didn't matter who came next. I felt confident and I think I ran the last 300 meters with a smile on my face. It was long, but I knew it would be hard for anyone to overtake me.”