Matthews living his green dream Tour
MICHAEL Matthews’ refusal to give up on his green dream has paid off spectacularly, with the Aussie taking the prestigious jersey in Stage 17 of the Tour de France.
He is now all but certain to become only the third Australian to finish in green in Paris in four days’ time after a tumultuous day in the Alps.
Matthews was crowned the new points classification leader after Marcel Kittel (shoulder) crashed and was forced to abandon.
The German was caught in a multi-rider pile-up only 20km into the mountainous 182km slog from La Mure and could not continue.
While Matthews may be benefiting from the exits of
fast men Kittel, Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish, he has been the enduring performer in a war of attrition.
As rivals have fallen around him, the man they call “Bling” has ridden with panache and aggression. Coming off two stage wins in three days, Matthews had cut Kittel’s lead to nine points when he won the intermediate early breakaway sprint before Kittel’s exit.
On the podium, Matthews closed his eyes and looked to the heavens. He now leads Andre Greipel by 160 points with four stages remaining.
“Today my dreams really came true,” Matthews said.
“I feel sorry for Kittel. I heard that he had a crash so I really hope that he’s OK.
“It’s never nice to get a jersey like this, but I’ve worked really hard for it and it’s a really nice feeling.”
Asked if he could hold the jersey until Paris, he said: “I really hope so. I’ve worked too hard to give it away now.”
Robbie McEwen (2002, 2004, 2006) and Baden Cooke (2003) are the only Aussies to have won the sprinters’ green jersey.
Slovenian Primoz Roglic won his first Tour stage, sending his parents into celebration in front of a TV on the Galibier.
Behind Roglic, Chris Froome withstood a barrage of attacks to extend his lead.