Paris-Nice: Michael Matthews feels justice was done

Race leader Michael Matthews believes the decision to award him victory on stage two of Paris-Nice and disqualify Nacer Bouhanni was the right one as the two came together in a contentious sprint.

Cofidis rider Bouhanni crossed the line first in the 213.5 kilometre trek to Commentry on Tuesday, but was later found guilty of changing his line and blocking Matthews as they neared the finish.

The Orica-GreenEdge rider, who also won the opening prologue to the race, was subsequently awarded the win as he stretched his lead.

And the Australian believes it was the correct call, saying after the race: "I think Bouhanni changed his line. I nearly crashed.

"It's always difficult to sprint at the end of such a long stage. It's unfortunate but either way I would have won because I was coming around him and I would have won if we hadn't touched.

"Two out of three wins, it's exceptional. Of course tomorrow [Wednesday] will be hard for everyone. We climbed Mont Brouilly in Paris-Nice two years ago but we finished at the bottom, not the top.

"It will definitely be interesting to see what I can do and how the other teams will react.

"I don't want to say anything at this point, I first want to go back to the hotel and celebrate with my team-mates. But I definitely hope to be able to keep the yellow jersey."??