Michael Matthews extends and BikeExchange-Jayco owner commits to three more years

Published July 24, 2022 03:06AM

Michael Matthews will stay in a BikeExchange-Jayco jersey through 2025 while team owner Gerry Ryan also commits to three more seasons for the Australia-based men’s and women’s teams.

Ryan founded Australia’s first WorldTour team in 2012, and reconfirmed financial backing for the teams through 2025.

“As we are in our second decade, we all work with more experience, but our energy and enthusiasm is as it was on day one,” Ryan said. “We are determined to keep growing as an organization and thanks to the partners we have, we believe more great things will come for GreenEdge Cycling in the next three years.”

The news comes as the team already confirmed GC captain and Vuelta a España winner Simon Yates will also stay with the team. Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen is under contract through 2024.

“Being able to look ahead and plan the next three years is fantastic for our organization and we have to thank team owner Gerry Ryan, who has committed to giving us all this opportunity,” said team manager Brent Copeland. “We are building the future for GreenEdge Cycling and this is of course for both our men’s and women’s teams. We see a very bright future and we are excited to see what we can continue to achieve together.”

Matthews, 31, won his first Tour de France stage this year since 2017 with an emotional victory at Mende, and hit second twice in the opening week.

The news ends speculation that Matthews might leave to join B&B Hotels, which is expected to have a much bigger budget in 2023, and could sign the likes of Mark Cavendish or Dylan Teuns.

Matthews, a former Tour de France green jersey winner, raced four years with the Australian outfit from 2013 to 2017, where he won stages in all three grand tours, before returning to the team in 2021 with more experience and motivation.

“This team for me is really a family, I am now 31 and obviously in the prime of my career with the best legs I have ever had since I started racing and I want to show the world, the team and Gerry what I am made of. I can’t wait to continue this journey for the next three years,” Matthews said.

“I have known Gerry since I was 17 years old and he always backed me 110 percent during my career, and I am of course always ready to give my best to repay his and the team’s trust in me. We always want to achieve new goals, make sure we build a better team year after year, and I can’t wait to achieve more success that we deserve.”