> During an altitude training camp in Livigino in preparation for the Tour de France, the problems began. Matthews felt unwell and could barely breathe at times. Initially, allergies were suspected, as he had also suffered from them during the Classics. But it turned out to be a pulmonary embolism.
> "When we first heard that, they said my career was over—not just my season," says the 35-year-old rider. "We didn't know how long it would take to resolve it, or even if that was even possible. They said that if I had continued with the training I was doing for two more days, I could have died. That was quite terrifying to hear. From that moment on, we just took it one day at a time and watched how the situation developed."
> It was during a training session during that fateful altitude training camp that Matthews realized something was truly wrong. Halfway up a climb, I looked at my coach and made the "I'm dead" gesture. He told me to keep pedaling, but I couldn't breathe, and my heart rate wouldn't go above 120, which was very strange at altitude. We stopped training and just went for a walk through the village. Then my heart rate suddenly shot up to 140, which was also strange.
> The Jayco AlUla rider decided to go to the hospital. "We went to the emergency room and immediately did a blood test. They saw the blood clots right away. Then they did a CT scan of my lungs and said, 'Holy fuck, this isn't what someone your age should look like.' It was a terrifying situation because I was alone in the hospital after my coach left. I barely got any sleep that night; I was covered in cables. That was one of the scariest moments of my life
fuark that's scary stuff