Australian cyclist Michael Matthews finished his spring campaign in style with victory in the Eschborn-Frankfurt one-day race on Thursday ahead of Uno-X Mobility's Magnus Cort Nielsen and Movistar's third-placed Jon Barrenetxea.
The 34-year-old Jayco AlUla cyclist sprinted to his 43rd career win after his team split the peloton at the tough, hilly section of the 198km race known as the 'German Classic'.
A four-time Tour de France stage winner, Matthews burnished his impressive record of winning at least one race in each of his last 16 seasons, barring Covid-hit 2021.
"I think my shape through the spring was good, I just wasn't on the top step," said Matthews, who was fourth in Milan-San Remo and fifth at the Amstel Gold Race this season.
"It's nice to finish off this block with a win here in Frankfurt.
"It's a race that has really suited me for a lot of years and I haven't been able to win it, so to come here with the team and the way we rode – we rode perfectly – and to execute a performance like my team did today, it was the icing on top of the cake."