Orica-GreenEDGE had targeted yesterday’s stage 4in the Vuelta a España with Michael Matthews and so they asked Christian Meier to keep the pace high as the stage was coming to a close.

Matthews eventually finished third after a late but failed surge to catch Daniel Moreno (Katusha) who gave the home crowd something to cheer about as he took the stage.

“When I jumped, the peloton slowed down a little bit. It sort of shocked everyone. I didn’t win but I’m happy with my sprint, I’m happy with the work the team did for me. I seem to have the form I need to contest the bunch sprints here.”

Matthews is 68th overall, 10’58” behind Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).