Michael Matthews has taken ORICA-GreenEDGE’s first win on European soil for the 2014 season, with a convincing bunch sprint victory at the Vuelta a La Rioja in Basque Country. Matthews bettered his second place position at this event last year, finishing off an exemplary display of teamwork by the Australian team to take the win ahead of Francesco Lasca (Caja Rural- Seguros RGA) in second and Carlos Barbero (Euskadi) in third.

“It’s obviously nice to win at any time, but the first win of the year is always hard to get,” said Matthews. “Once you get the first one they usually keep coming. The lead out was perfect today, probably the best lead-out I’ve experienced with any team. Hopefully the win today gives the team confidence that I can win and if we can keep these lead outs going there should be more wins to come.”

The team went into the 164.7 kilometre warm up race for this week’s six day Vuelta al Pais Vasco firmly focused on getting Matthews to the line for the win.

A flurry of early attacks led to the formation of the day’s main breakaway, which included Christian Meier and Damien Howson. Once that was reeled in, a smaller break of six riders managed to escape and maintained a slim advantage over the bunch into the final kilometres of the race. With around 10 kilometres remaining, ORICA-GreenEDGE moved to the front and worked systematically to bring ensure a bunch sprint for Matthews.

With the team’s first win of the European season coming relatively late in comparison with previous years, the confidence garnered from Matthew’s win has come at an ideal time ahead of the Basque tour that brought so much success for the team in 2013.