Michael Matthews hits back at critic after Worlds silver: ‘Not sure what race you watched’

The Australian finished second behind Brandon McNulty after beating Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint for silver, but not everyone was impressed by the way Matthews raced.

The exchange unfolded beneath an Instagram post from Tom Pidcock, who had shared a selection of images from the race alongside the caption: “Left it all on the road 🌈.”

Matthews replied with a simple fire emoji, before another user turned the attention towards the Australian.

“You always rode in the wheel, you never attacked or proposed anything, you’re a second rate rider,” the comment read.

Matthews decided not to let that one pass. “Not sure what race you watched mate, sorry if I didn’t attack enough to make you satisfied but I can assure you I did and I’m very proud of my ride,” he responded.

The exchange came after another strong World Championships showing from Matthews. At 36, the Australian has now made 14 appearances in the elite men’s road race, collecting four medals and six top 10 finishes along the way.

For all the satisfaction of another medal, Matthews also felt the race might have yielded more.

Speaking after the finish, he suggested that the chasing group had been capable of bringing McNulty back, but questioned whether trade team relationships had affected the cooperation between riders representing different countries.

“There was a little bit of teamwork between certain riders,” Matthews told Sporza. “If fewer teams had ridden together across national borders, then we would have caught him. It is what it is.”

That frustration was balanced by what the result meant after a difficult period in his career. Matthews suffered a pulmonary embolism in 2025 before a serious training crash earlier this year left him with both arms broken.

“To be second around here on a circuit that many said was out of my reach, to show everyone that I’m still up there with the best in the world, even after what I’ve been through, at the moment feels like a win,” he said.

“I said to my wife at the start of today, let’s just leave it all out there and be proud of the ride at the end of the day. Make sure you finish with nothing left, and it’s exactly what happened today when I crossed the finish line.”

After everything it had taken to reach the podium again, Matthews was clearly in no mood to see his performance dismissed.