Matthews signs for Rabobank
Australian rider Michael Matthews has signed a two-year contract with Dutch team Rabobank, becoming the team's seventh signing for 2011.
The 19-year-old joins Theo Bos, Luis Leon Sanchez, Matti Breschel, Maarten Wynants, Coen Vermeltfoort and Tom-Jelte Slagter at Erik Breukink's team, which is gearing up for a strong season next year.
Matthews began cycling competitively at 16, and has since won the the 2008 Mersey Valley Tour in Tasmania and raced for Australia in the 2008 Junior Road World Championships in the United States.
The Australian is currently racing in the Tour de l'Avenir, a variant of the Tour de France for young riders. He finished second in the first stage and third in the prologue, proving that Breukink has scouted a promising talent.
"He is considered a top talent, there were several ProTour teams interested in him, but we are proud of the fact that we were able to contract him," Breukink said of Matthews, who joins Rabobank from Australian team Jayco Skins.
Courted by several teams
Matthews has also proven proficient in the classics, having finished as runner-up the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen this year, attracting the attention of several ProTour teams.
"There aren't very many riders with this kind of talent at this level. We have been watching him since January, and he has proven to be a rider with a big engine and an excellent attitude. He hasn't been racing so long, so his development can still go very far."
Another Australian on the ProTour
Matthews will become one of many Australian riders on the UCI ProTour. HTC-Columbia pair Mark Renshaw and Matthe Goss, Katusha's Robbie McEwen and Cadel Evans of the BMC Racing Team are among his most notable compatriots.
Veteran McEwen, 38, recently signed for Fly V Australia, leading many to believe that the team will land a ProTour license for 2011.
Tags: