Two Years in the Making: Matt Dinham’s Return to Racing

When Matt Dinham pins on a race number at the Tour de Langkawi on 28th September, it will be almost two years since the Australian last finished a cycling race. The 25-year-old rider hasn’t crossed a finish line since Il Lombardia on 7th October 2023. What followed was a long, complicated injury saga that tested his patience, resilience and love for cycling.

A comeback long in the making

“Pretty great,” Dinham says when asked how he feels now. “The rehab has gone well. It’s been a bit of a rush to be ready for the last races of the season. We wanted to find the right balance, and not starting back with the hardest races like Canada. Langkawi and then Guangxi felt like the perfect way to return. My training sessions have been good and I’ve done everything I can to be ready.”

It sounds straightforward, but the road to this point has been anything but. In the autumn of 2023, after hiking during an off-season camp, Dinham felt pain in his foot that worsened on the flight home to Australia. Scans revealed a stress fracture, but treatment never brought lasting relief. “The fracture was healing, but more complications kept coming: nerve symptoms with no clear cause. I had seven MRIs, six ultrasounds, X-rays, nerve conduction studies and more…we were a bit lost as to what was causing the issues.”

Months of frustration followed. Training restarts ended in agony. Even walking to a restaurant became impossible. “I tried everything. Different doctors, physios, but we couldn’t solve it. In the end a friend of mine and radiologist in Sydney went above and beyond with the help of his colleagues to diagnose the issue. They discovered accessory veins which were causing tarsal tunnel syndrome in my ankle. Even on the indoor trainer, with almost no resistance, I was in pain after only a few minutes as the nerve would get compressed.”

A risky decision

Surgery was the only option, one carrying a 30 percent chance that Dinham might never walk or ride normally again. “It was a bit scary. But I couldn’t live like that. Most days I couldn’t walk for more than a few minutes without pain.” On 13th May this year, surgeons in Sydney operated. Six weeks on crutches followed, then painstaking rehabilitation.

“The first few rides on the home trainer were 50 watts for 15 minutes,” he recalls. “I really had to start from nothing. Eight weeks after the operation I could finally ride outside again and from there I built up slowly: increasing duration then intensity.”

Throughout, friends and medical staff kept him going. “I was lucky to have incredible people around me. My friends in Sydney supported me a lot and made plans which I could still be involved in without stressing the injury. For sure without the team, my doctors and physios, my trainer and coach; I wouldn’t be here. For someone without that support I had, solving this would be nearly impossible.”

Never letting go of the dream

Despite the setbacks, quitting never crossed his mind. “I wanted nothing more than to keep cycling. As an Australian it’s so hard to make it as a pro in Europe, and I’d sacrificed so much. I started racing when I was four years old. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

To fill the empty days, Dinham enrolled part-time at university and even took up some swimming. “I realised how important sport is for me, how much being healthy means. Now, riding again with friends in Nice, it feels like I have my life back.”

Eyes on Malaysia

Dinham’s goals for Langkawi are simple: regain the feeling of racing in a peloton. “I have zero expectations in terms of results,” he says with a smile. “I just want to push my limits again. Honestly, I’ll probably be the most excited rider on the start line. Getting that email with the flight details was surreal. I’ll have to set a reminder, so I don’t miss the plane to Malaysia,” he laughs. Looking ahead, the plan is to finish Langkawi and then Guangxi, build through the winter, and start 2026, ideally at home in Australia, ready to race.

For someone who once mixed it with riders like Pogacar, Van der Poel and Van Aert at the 2023 World Championships, the next step isn’t about podiums. It’s about gratitude and perspective. “If I can look back after Langkawi and know I gave everything, I’ll be happy. I just want to do my best and enjoy being back racing with the team.”

From the icy climbs of rehab to the humid roads of Malaysia, Matt Dinham’s return is a quiet triumph: proof that persistence, patience and the right people can bring a career back to life.