‘BLING’: A WORTHY INVESTMENT
I’d been an embattled sports promoter for 28 years and was quite used to the roller-coaster slings and arrows that either provoked a barrage of red-faced cursing or a bucket-load of puzzled amusement.
Such was the situation on the 2008 Tour of the Murray River, an 857-kilometre, 14-stage speed trek which criss-crossed the unique flat terrain of the Victoria-NSW border for eight days and sorely tested the durability of the 88-strong field.
The racing on Tuesday, September 2, in Victoria included an 88.4km Stage 6 slog from Swan Hill to the iconic media identity Lou Richards’ favourite town, Manangatang. The entourage passed through some sleepy Mallee villages enroute, notably Woorinen South, Pira, Nyah West and the fabled Chinkapook.
Among the budding hopefuls for overall honours were the future Tour de France luminaries Luke Durbridge, Nathan Haas, Leigh Howard and Rohan Dennis. Leigh and Rohan also won bronze medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Olympic track silver medallist Glen O’Shea and dual Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic winner Joel Pearson were in the crackerjack field, too.
A baby-faced 17-year-old kid from Canberra finished fourth in the stage and nobody took much notice of him. He earned $125 prizemoney.
The action switched to the NSW rural town of Balranald the following day and before the aspiring warriors lined-up for a 63km, 35-lap closed circuit street contest (criterium) at the local primary school, I received a relayed message from a couple of our more prominent officials, Frank McCaig and Brian Reeves, that the Canberra lad was broke and didn’t even have enough money to buy breakfast.
The kid was requesting his $125 up-front to help make ends meet. Always a soft touch, I dipped into my wallet and produced its entire contents of $50. I asked ‘Reevesy’ to give it to him to help ease his pressing financial plight, and said we would have a chat after the race to sort out a few things.
We didn’t need to. The kid won the stage. First prize was $750 and his babyish smile was in full bloom as he stood proudly on the podium to accept a generous supply of prizes from the assembled adoring school kids and municipal dignitaries.
Then a local businessman and community leader hauled his ample frame up on the podium and seized the microphone from our bemused commentators Lyndsay Hill and the irrepressible Johnnie Holland who, for once, was sputtering for words.
“I just want to make a small presentation to the winner as a sign of our appreciation,” bellowed the businessman, who ran a district wood-cutting operation and seemed to be averse to anybody who resembled a clown.
Then he extracted $3000 in cash from his pocket and handed it over to the kid, who was stunned. So were the rest of us.
The 300 members of the tour entourage were back in Victoria the next morning for another closed-circuit street scrap in Robinvale. The kid from Canberra was missing. He’d vanished.
His name was Michael Matthews. In the ensuing 15 years since his raider-like Balranald conquest – he had signed several multi-million dollar contracts to race on the global stage, most particularly with the pioneering GreenEDGE professional trade squadron founded by the wealthy Australian businessman and cycling aficionado Gerry Ryan. (In 2023, Jayco caravan tycoon Ryan was listed in the Australian Financial Review as the country’s 199th richest person, with a $A693 million fortune).
By then, Matthews, known to his mates as ‘Bling’ because of his penchant for jewellery, had won more than 40 classic global races, plus countless placings. He’d risen to “gun” status.
Here is just a glimpse of his career conquests:
. Winner, four individual Tour de France stages.
. Winner, green jersey sprint championship, Tour de France.
. Winner, three individual stages, Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) and two teams time trial stages.
. Winner, three individual stages, Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain).
. Winner, road race, Oceania Road Championships.
. Winner, Under 23 road race, UCI world championships.
. Three-times placed, world road championship: USA, Norway, Australia,
and winner world teams time trial title.
. Triple stage winner and dual sprint classification champion, Tour of Utah
(USA).
. Prologue, stage winner and sprint classification titleholder, Paris-Nice
Classic (France).
. Winner, three stages, Tour of the Basque Country (Spain).
. Stage winner and sprint classification titleholder, Tour of Slovenia.
. Triple stage winner and sprint classification winner, Volta a Catalunya
(Spain).
. Winner two stages, Tour de Langkawi (Malaysia).
. Dual stage winner Tour de Suisse (Tour of Switzerland), and winner black
jersey sprint championship.
. Twice winner, Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec (Canada).
Born on September 26, 1990, the Monaco-based Matthews reached an important personal goal by representing Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. A month later, he was a member of the gold medal-winning Aussie line-up in the mixed team relay at the world championships in Switzerland.
I reckon that $50 handout was the most productive investment I’ve ever made in a young sportsman.
Injury will prevent Michael Matthews from contesting his eighth Tour de France, which starts in Lille on Saturday, July 5, ending in Paris on Sunday, July 27.
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Great story. The Tour de France is a highlight of my sporting calendar. Perfect timeslot for Perth winter evenings. Take in the scenery and history in the early evening viewing. Then tune back in with an hour to go when the race takes shape and the tactics and big guns come into play. We did the Tour of SA a few years ago and the community vibe around road cycle makes for a superb day out. And the teams and mechanics are so much more accessible and friendly to the public than other sports. Vive le France.
Great yarn John. You couldn’t possibly make up a story like that – so it must be true!
And well done to Caribou too for cycling promotion. I had only really been aware of the promotion of the Melbourne-Warrnambool classic plus a few other Victorian events. I didn’t realise you spread the Caribou wings interstate.
RDL
As co-ordinator of the eight-day Tour of the Murray River for about half of its 17-year life, this race holds a special place in my heart. Organised by John Craven’s Caribou Publications and Events, which became Australia’s leading cycling promoter, with iconic classics such as the Herald Sun Tour, Melbourne to Warrnambool, Australian Road Championships, and the Tours of Tasmania, Queensland, Gippsland, Geelong, The Great South Coast, Alpine New South Wales, Bendigo Maddison and, of course, the Murray River trek.
These events were the launching pad for many of Australia’s greatest Tour de France riders and Olympians, Michael Matthews among them. Wonderful memories.