Michael Matthews Storms to First Win of 2026 Season in Gruelling Uphill Sprint
Michael Matthews (https://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/michael-matthews/) (Jayco AlUla) kicked off his 2026 season in flying fashion with victory at the Gran Premio Castellón-Ruta de la Cerámica, emerging from the bunch in first after a gruelling uphill sprint.
It's the second time Matthews has won the 1.1 one-day race in Castellón, repeating his form from the 2024 season and putting him in good standing for more solid results at the upcoming Challenge Mallorca.
A thrilling day of action came down to the uphill finale, with Pau Miquel (Bahrain-Victorious) and Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) the next best behind Matthews, who was the clear winner in the sprint.
An early breakaway of six led for most of the 171-kilometre race in eastern Spain, with Jasper Schoofs (Soudal-QuickStep), Carlos García Pierna (Burgos BH), Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel Euskadi), Márton Dina (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort), Kenny Molly (Van Rysel Roubaix) and Enzo Leijnse (Anicolor) building a lead of six minutes at its largest.
Jayco AlUla were one of the main teams pacing throughout the day, but the action kicked off properly over the final climb – Collado de Ayódar (5km at 4.5%) – where Leijnse was the last man standing until 13 kilometres to go.
The most significant attack came from Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who was followed by Christian Scaroni, Guillermo Thomas Silva (both XDS Astana) and Héctor Álvarez (Spain) in a move over the top.
It's been a long road back to his best after a real health scare during the 2025 season, when the team discovered 'signs of a pulmonary embolism'. (https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/teams-riders/i-honestly-feel-there-are-bigger-things-to-come-michael-matthews-has-renewed-enthusiasm-for-cycling-and-for-life-after-pulmonary-embolism-scare/) Matthews extended his contract at Jayco AlUla (https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/i-still-feel-like-im-25-years-old-michael-matthews-extends-contract-with-jayco-alula-for-two-more-years/) for another two years after a successful return to racing in the latter half of the season, and looks on track to be back at full capacity already.
Results
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