Australia's Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) will return to racing on Sunday at the Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France, two and a half months after halting competition with signs of pulmonary embolism.
During an altitude camp earlier in the year, Matthews' Jayco AlUla team discovered signs of a pulmonary embolism in the 34-year-old rider, forcing him to take an immediate break from all racing and riding.
That was mid-June, with the team set to explore the extent of Matthews' health, with a return period unknown, but after just 11 weeks, the Australian will return to racing on Sunday, his first event since Eschborn-Frankfurt on May 1, which he won.
The team did not provide an update into Matthews' condition, and it's not known how long he has been back training for, but the team seem to have determined that he is clear to return to competition.
After missing out on the summer of racing and the Tour de France, Matthews is embracing the chance to race again, at a race he has won before.
"I’m really looking forward to pinning a number on again and getting out there with my teammates. These last few months have been tough, but I’m ready and excited to get back racing again," he said in a team press release.
"It is also special to be returning to a race that I have good memories of after my win back in 2020. I’ve also had some other good results here in my career and it’s a race that suits me well."
Joining Matthews in what is traditionally a very open race in northwest France will be new signing Filippo Conca, Alessandro De Marchi, Davide De Pretto, Felix Engelhardt, Mauro Schmid and Filippo Zana.
"We have a strong team with a few options that we can play, so I’m excited to be back and to finish the season on a high with these next few races," Matthews said.
Those 'next few races' are set to include a trip to the World Championships, with Matthews confirmed as part of Australia's road race team for Rwanda, but it is not confirmed where else he will appear before the end of the season.
Having not taken a win since the Tour de France, Jayco will be looking for a result on Sunday, though they know it will be a challenging return for Matthews.
"We have a nice team Plouay and it’s good to have Michael back after his injury. We will see how far he can get into the final, but I’m quite confident Michael is going to be good, he’s a real professional athlete," DS Peter Weening said. "On the other hand, it’s his first race back and it’s a long race, 260km with almost a little more than 4,800 altitude metres, so it’s also going to be a hard race for him.
"In the end it’s going to be an honest race, it’s a real hard race so if you want to end up in the final and you want to make a result that means first of all you need to have the legs. It’s a pure honest race."
