Cyclist Matthews wins World Championship silver in Canada — ABC News Australia

Australian cyclist Michael Matthews won a silver medal in the men's road race at the World Championships in Montreal, Canada. Over the 273.4 km distance, he finished second, 13 seconds behind American Brandon McNulty, ABC News Australia reports.

The 36-year-old Matthews finished ahead of former world champion Mathieu van der Poel and Quinn Simmons, who were classified with the same time. It is the Australian's second silver medal in the road race at the World Championships: he won his first 11 years ago in Richmond, Virginia. He also has bronze medals from Bergen in 2017 and Wollongong in 2022.

Return after illness and crash

Matthews missed a significant part of the 2025 season after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. On March 5, he was also involved in a head-on collision with a fire truck during training. According to the rider, the combined speed of the cyclist and the fire truck was about 100 km/h.

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As a result of the crash, the athlete suffered an open arm fracture, torn thumb tendons, fractures to both wrists and a sinus fracture that required stitches to his face. Matthews said that after what he had been through, he considered a return to competing for top places unlikely, and called the World Championship silver a result he could be proud of.

McNulty's victory

Brandon McNulty attacked just over 30 km before the finish and held on to his lead despite accelerations by Ireland's Ben Healy and Britain's Tom Pidcock. The 28-year-old rider, who competes for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, became the third American to win the men's road race at the World Championships, after Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong.

Two-time reigning world champion Tadej Pogačar did not start the race as he is recovering from neck and collarbone fractures sustained in a crash at the Vuelta a España.