In the Brittain household winning is just a way of life.

On 8 July husband and wife cycling duo Matthew & Alicia Brittain defeated over 2300 riders at L’Etape Malaysia to take home a pair of prized yellow jerseys and hard earned L’Etape by Tour de France titles.

The couple originally from South Africa, now in Singapore riding for Matador Racing, started their winning day with Matthew, 36, crossing the finish line of the 140km gran fondo in first place with a time of 3:17:38, one-and-a-half minutes ahead of the next rider.

“My game plan here was to attack the leading pack after 90 kilometres. When I saw the opportunity at an uphill, I launched the attack of my life. I just put my head down and saw the vision of the yellow jersey. I had an absolutely amazing race, the roads were beautiful and the entire vibe was fantastic,” Matthew said after winning.

Matthew, a 2012 London Olympic gold medalist in rowing, made the switch to cycling a few years ago.

“Winning at the Olympics was an amazing experience product of hard work… But to me, cycling is more challenging than rowing because it is exposed to hot weather and there is a risk of accidents,” Matthew added.

It did not take long for the Brittain family to notch a second L’Etape Malaysia win.

Just five minutes after Matthew, Alicia Brittain crossed the finish line with a time of 3:22:11 to win the women’s 140km gran fondo, over half-an-hour ahead of her closest competitor. Top results are nothing new for Alicia, she finished third at the UCI Tour Bintan 2023 gran fondo world championship qualifying race.

Seems winning just runs in the family…

Photo Credit: L’Etape Malaysia

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