Matthews joins the Pidcock Del Toro row after World Championships: 'If fewer teams had ridden together across national borders...'

His first reaction gave no hint of that. In the flash interview Matthews said he had "been beaten by a better cyclist today".

At the press conference, sitting next to the new world champion, he stayed diplomatic: "When McNulty went away, they still had two US riders in our bunch. Anything that started to go, they were covering it really well for Brandon." He said to Cyclingnews, adding: "I think he was the strongest rider today, so he deserves it."

With Belgian broadcaster Sporza he pointed at something other than the American team tactics.

Matthews never specified who he meant, but in light of the Tom Pidcock comments we can certainly guess. The suggestion from both Pidcock and Matthews is that McNulty may have gained from his trade teammate Isaac del Toro's presence in the decisive group

Del Toro has already answered these accusations, as we reported on Monday. Matthews, the man who finished closest to McNulty, has now added his voice, even if he chose his words more carefully.

Outside Online adds a detail that fans may not have picked up on. Belgian TV commentators were irate on Sunday when Del Toro and McNulty were seen chatting at the back of their group. This happened in the kilometers before McNulty made his decisive move, making it hard to ignore. When McNulty went, Del Toro was said to hesitate on the front of the group.

The two know each other well. According to Velo, they even shared leadership for UAE at the Canadian GPs, just weeks before the Montréal road worlds. The awkwardness of trade-team ties at the Worlds was already a theme before the race. It seems a long time ago now, but Tim Wellens ruled himself out of the race, and caught a hell of a lot of flack for doing so. The conversation around national team vs trade team loyalties has only been stoked by Del Toro.

There is also a less suspicious explanation. CycleNation points out that the 22-year-old Del Toro spent around 50km helping drive the chase before McNulty attacked. He and Paul Seixas had put in a sustained effort to bridge the gap to the front group before McNulty's attack, with Seixas suffering greatly in the end. Had the Mexican also just run out of steam?

In the end, Matthews won the sprint for silver in Montréal, 13 seconds behind McNulty. After a torrid 2 years of injury and sickness, Matthews seemed pretty happy with a silver medal in his 14th start at road world championships.

Whether Del Toro's perceived reluctance to chase robbed him of a rainbow jersey is another matter. Matthews summed it up himself: "it is what it is". The debate, however, rages on!