Mitchelton Scott (open in new tab) has announced a two-year deal with Michael Matthews (open in new tab).

Matthews returns to Mitchelton-Scott after four seasons with the German team and two stage wins at the Tour de France (open in new tab). Matthews had targeted the Tour de France and the spring classics this season, but surprisingly missed the Tour selection (opens in new tab).

The 29-year-old opened the 2020 season with Paris-Nice, finishing third in Milan-San Remo despite injuring his hand in Poggio, and last week he won the Bretagne Classic-West of France (open in new tab) ahead of Mitchelton Scott's Luca Medjeck.

"One moment it just felt right. As a sprinter, as a rider, you feel moments like this and sometimes you have to follow your gut," Matthews said in a Mitchelton Scott press release.

"The opportunity to come back was there. It just felt right at this moment in my career and the team welcomed me with open arms. [I have great memories from GreenEdge. Jerry Ryan helped me through my under-19 and under-23 years and my transition to pro.

Matthews continued that as a leader, he races for his own results, but he also looks forward to racing as part of a team that aims for the overall in the Grand Tours. Last year he trained specifically to support Tom Dumoulin, who is leaving Sunweb for 2020 at the Tour de France, but lacked his top sprint form after the Dutchman injured his knee in the Giro.

"I want to get my own results, but also be part of a team that has GC goals," Matthews said. 'There's Simon Yates who can win the biggest Grand Tour in the world, and I want to be a part of that.'

"I'm not going to focus on any particular race or result in order to have a successful next two years, but I want to progress as a rider and as a teammate and enjoy racing.

Mitchelton Scott's future appeared to be in trouble earlier this year, when a deal with Spanish nonprofit Manuela Fundacion appeared to save the nine-year-old team. However, a disagreement over the terms of the contract quickly led to the deal's demise (open in new tab).

Ryan said that Matthews was happy to "come home" to the Australian team, a team that had developed into a major rider with multiple stage wins at the Vuelta a España, Giro d'Italia, and Paris-Nice.

"Having followed Michael's journey from a junior admirer to the world-class rider he is today, it has been incredibly satisfying for me to witness the transition, both on and off the bike," Ryan said. [Michael] is a one-of-a-kind rider and has brought our organization some of the most spectacular victories on the world's biggest stages, including the Tour de France. We couldn't be happier to welcome Michael back home.

Brent Copeland, Mitchelton Scott's general manager, is a relatively new addition from Bahrain McLaren after his contract with Manuela Fundacion was terminated (opens in new tab).

"It is a great pleasure to welcome Michael to the team," Copeland said. Michael's addition is a great addition to the team roster that we have been working closely on over the past few months with Darrack McQuaid, Matthew White, and the team's technical staff."

"He is a rider who brings a great deal of excitement to the races, as well as a true individual who fits very well into the team culture. I have no doubt that fans in Australia and around the world are looking forward to Michael's return." "We have a solid future ahead of us.