Michael Matthews has won stage 14 of the Tour de France, prevailing after a terrific battle with Alberto Bettiol on the closing stages of the climb to Mende.
Matthews has twice finished second at this year's Tour, on stages 6 and 8, but would not be denied when another chance presented itself.
After joining the 24-man breakaway early on the stage, Matthews attacked with over 50km to go in an attempt to make a solo bid for the line.
The BikeExchange-Jayco rider was joined by Andreas Kron, Felix Grosschartner and Luis León Sánchez but continued to set the pace, dropping his fellow escapees before the final climb of the day, the Côte de la Croix Neuve.
On the punishing, 3km ascent that averaged over 10 per cent gradient, the Australian was caught and overtaken by Bettiol, making it appear that Matthews might have missed his chance.
However, the 31-year-old fought back and passed his Italian rival on the final stage of the climb before riding away on the short descent to the finish, claiming victory by 15 seconds.
"It's pretty much the story of my career. I've had so many rollercoasters up and down. How many times have I been smashed down but I always get back up," Matthews said, dedicating his win to his wife and four-year-old daughter.
"I really just wanted to show her why I'm away all the time to show her what I do it for.
"Just think of my daughter … the whole way up to the finish.
"How much sacrifice they [his wife and daughter] make for me to make my dreams come true.
"Hopefully, today I showed them the reason why we sacrifice so much."
Matthews said that he felt yesterday was a "big opportunity missed" and that today was likely to be his "last chance" for a win at this year's Tour.
"We're running out of chances at this year's Tour de France," he said.
"I think I just wanted to show everyone that I'm not just a sprinter, I can also ride like I rode today."
Matthews last won a Tour de France stage in 2017, when he also won the green jersey for the points classification.
Matthews move from Sunweb to BikeExchange-Jayco came with much pressure but had failed to deliver until earlier this season with a stage win at the Volta a Catalunya.
Jonas Vingegaard retains his yellow jersey, despite a late attack from two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar.
