Michael Matthews finally gave up the Maglia Rosa after a week that has seen him in the jersey since the end of stage 2 as well as taking a memorable stage 6 while in the race lead.

 

“We always knew that he was an incredible talent, and he is, but there’s so many areas that where he needs to mature and to learn. Having the pink jersey will help him do so even quicker,” Orica general manager, Shayne Bannan said.

 

“He’ll take self-belief out of this and confidence. He’s 23 and he’s never led a Grand Tour before. He’s going to go away from this Giro d’Italia with some really valuable experience to take forward.”

 

Matthews went out in style, waving at the camera and giving a big thumbs up. He has said at the beginning of the stage that he expected to lose the jersey and he did not try to fight it, coming in way down in the standings and thus handing over the jersey to compatriot Cadel Evans.

 

Matthews still has a few stages that he can win before his team pulls him out before the Alpine Mountains so he can prepare for the Tour de France.

 

He explains how much his stint in pink has changed his confidence and made him a better rider.

 

“Have the jersey helped my confidence. Coming into this race, I was a little down on confidence,” Matthews explained.

 

“In cycling you need to have a lot of confidence in yourself and how you’re going. That’s the main boost for me, confidence, and being able to position myself going into the finals. Hopefully, the ball keeps rolling with wins after the Giro.”