Today he pinned on his race number again, pedaled in the group, practically he came back home. He crossed the finish line in Saint-Ismier, where the first stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes concluded, finishing in 101st place with a gap of 21'11" from winner Baudin.

But Michael Matthews won, in every way. And the reason you can easily find in his own words: «The crash I was involved in last March was much worse than everyone initially thought. It wasn't written anywhere, but I hit a fire truck at a combined speed of 100 km/h... he was going 50, I was going 50. I broke both my arms and also suffered facial fractures».

The Jayco AlUla Australian rider's account continues: «I'm not afraid to get back on my bike and rejoin the group because I trust myself and I trust my equipment. That crash wasn't my fault. I was doing motor pacing in preparation for the Sanremo, when I came to a curve and, as far as I remember, suddenly there was something red in front of me. I consider myself extremely lucky: a crash like that could have ended my career, or worse, I might not be here right now. I'm fortunate to be able to tell this story. And today, well, we've started writing a new chapter».