Michael Matthews said his friend and training partner Tadej Pogachar has helped him regain his passion for cycling, but there will be no gifts in Sunday's road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich. The Australian is confident he can beat the Slovenian in a sprint finish.

“When he starts riding uphill for more than a few minutes, it will be more difficult, but I can beat him in sprint training,” Matthews told Cycling News during World Championships week, using his cycling pride and humor.

“I'm confident if it comes down to a sprint with him, but let's see what happens in the 270km before that.” [He is expected to attack on the 27km Zurich circuit, which is run seven times in the 273.9km elite men's road race.

After winning the historic Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Pogachar rested and trained specifically for the world championships. He returned to racing in Canada and won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal with a solo attack 23.3 km before the finish.

Matthews won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec in Canada, where he witnessed Pogachar's great form.

“He's really good,” Matthews said ominously.

“We trained together on the back of the bike for three days before we came here. We did motor pacing, sprinting together, attacking each other on the climbs. We had a good time.”

Matthews won the 2010 Under 23 World Championships in Geelong, Australia. Since then he has had a professional career that has been both successful and frustrating at the same time. His friendship with Pogachar has given him new motivation in recent years.

“What I like about Pogachar is that he always enjoys riding his bike. I didn't enjoy cycling for several years, but thanks to Tadei I found my love for it again."

”I'm very happy with the way Pogachal and I have worked together.

“We love to train together, we have a lot of fun. It doesn't feel like training, it feels like we just go out and have fun."

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Matthews undoubtedly knows Pogachar better than any of his rivals in Sunday's road race, and probably has a faster sprint finish.

“If I knew how to beat him. If I knew how to beat him, I would have done it already in other races,” Matthews said.

“He doesn't have a UAE team that runs at a high pace all day like he did in Montreal. But he can do basically anything.”

Matthews leads a solid Australian team that includes four reliable World Tour-level riders, including Jay Vine, Jai Hindley, and Ben O'Connor.

He would be a favorite to win if the race were to finish in a small group, as Lotte Kopecky did in Saturday's women's race, winning a six-rider sprint to claim her second consecutive world championship title.

“I'm very confident in myself,” Matthews said.

“I think Quebec went really well. In Montreal I was a little short of fuel and exploded in the final, but I learned from that. I hope to be stronger this Sunday.”

Matthews won Wednesday's mixed relay time trial as part of the Australian team and wore the rainbow jersey, riding what he called “full pace, full lactic acid” on the 27 km Zurich circuit.

“I think the key climb of the circuit is not as difficult as I thought it would be when I saw the profile. That gives me a little more confidence,” Matthews said.

“Without a radio, it's really hard to stay in control of the race. I'll do my best. I think Benno [Ben O'Connor] and Jay [Bein] are in really good shape. The other guys are coming from the Vuelta and different races, so I think we have a strong and great team.”

Australia, like the other major nations, will try to race their own race rather than leave it to Pogachar's dictates.

“We'll play our hand and run our own race,” Matthews insisted.

[3] “There are a lot of big threats, not just Pogachar. If everyone targets him, someone else will win.” [Unlimited access to all coverage of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships, including breaking news and analysis from journalists on the ground, including junior, under-23 and elite time trials and road races. Details.

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