So far it was a season of ups and downs for Michael Matthews, as the 23-year old Australian impressively improved his climbing skills to shine clad in the maglia rosa during the Giro d’Italia first week, but pulled out of his awaited Tour de France debut days before it kicked off in Leeds due to training crash. The Orica-GreenEDGE rider returned to action at the Tour de Pologne this week, and even though he aims to use the Polish event to pick up a pace ahead of the Vuelta a Espana and World Championships, he seems to find the right rhythm sooner than expected.

Matthews was certainly one of the biggest revelations of this year’s Giro d’Italia, and even though he lacks a speed to match a pure sprinters in flat stages, his impressively improved climbing skills make him a serious contender to excel in slightly lumpier affairs exactly like his more experienced team mates Simon Gerrans and Michael Albasini do.

In such circumstances, the 23-year old Australian was certainly a winner candidate for several hilly stages of the 101st edition of the Tour de France, but a training crash just few days before a French grand Tour kicked off in Great Britain left Giro and Vuelta stage winner out of the race, injured and brokenhearted.

"It was my real goal in my career to make the Tour de France in the condition that I was in and it was taken away from me," says the Australian, who wore the pink leader's jersey in the Giro d'Italia for six days in May. "In the condition where I was, the decision [not to start] was quiet heart breaking."

"Since my crash, I had good three weeks of training, but when you come from altitude it can take a few days [before reaching your top form]," Matthews said.

Weather conditions during the Tour de Pologne first stage have given Matthews a really hard times on the day of his return to racing as the Australian had to overcome a scorching heat and hailstorm before reaching a finish in Bydgoszcz yesterday. The Orica-GreenEDGE rider admitted that he didn’t have contesting a bunch sprint in mind as he was simply glad to survive a hectic six hours in the saddle and indicated that he won’t chase stage victories in the event, aiming to prepare himself for the Vuelta and World Championships in Ponferrada.

"I was not involved in any crash but I had to avoid at least fifteen riders," the Australian told Cyclingnews in a relaxed smile. "This is why I couldn't be part of the sprint."

"I went to Poland to see where my form is at the moment and I feel I have quite good legs," added Matthews.

Second stage of the Polish sole WorldTour event was an entirely different story, however, as reportedly uninterested in stage victories Matthews famously won a sprint for a second spot in Warsaw, celebrating as if Petr Vakoc (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) didn’t cross the finish line twenty seconds earlier. Even the Australian squad was surprised with disposition of their 23-year old rider and promised to contribute to pace setting in the coming stages.

"I think am on the right track for the Worlds," Matthews says.