Michael Matthews: "If I had trained for two more days, I could have died from that pulmonary embolism"
Michael Matthews claimed victory at the Gran Premio Castellón last Saturday. It was his first (individual) win since May 1, 2025, when he won Eschborn-Frankfurt. After that WorldTour win in Germany, Matthews suffered serious health issues due to a pulmonary embolism. In an interview with Irish journalist Daniel Benson, he reflects on that period.
The problems began during a high-altitude training camp in Livigno in preparation for the Tour de France. Matthews felt unwell and sometimes could barely breathe. Initially, allergies were suspected, since he had experienced them during the classics. But it turned out to be a pulmonary embolism.
"When we first heard that, they said my career was over – not just my season," says the 35-year-old rider. "We didn’t know how long it would take to resolve, or even if that was possible at all. They said if I had continued the training for two more days, I could have died. That was pretty terrifying to hear. From that moment on, we took it day by day and saw how the situation developed."
‘One of the scariest moments of my life’
It was during a training session at that ill-fated altitude camp that Matthews realized something was really wrong. "Halfway up a climb, I looked at my coach and made the ‘I’m dead’ sign. He told me to keep pedaling, but I couldn’t catch my breath and my heart rate didn’t go above 120, which was very odd at altitude. We stopped the session and just went for a walk around the village. Then my heart rate suddenly shot up to 140, which was also strange.”
The Jayco AlUla rider decided to go to the hospital. “We went to the emergency room and immediately had a blood test. They saw the blood clots right away. Then they did a CT scan of my lungs and said, ‘Holy fuck, this is not what someone your age should look like.’ It was a frightening situation because I was alone in the hospital after my coach had left. I barely slept that night, lying there hooked up to all kinds of cables. That was one of the scariest moments of my life.”
Wake-up call
The full recovery then took three months, Matthews explains. During that time, he never thought about quitting. "Not for a moment. I still have far too many ambitions in this sport to stop."
"For me, it was more of a wake-up call. It feels like a second chance, as if this happened for a reason. It’s an opportunity to adjust the way I race a little," says the Australian, who made his comeback at the end of August. In the fall, he already earned several top placings and even won the Mixed Relay at the World Championships in Rwanda with his country. At the Gran Premio Castellón last weekend, he followed up with his first individual win since the whole ordeal.
