Ewan frustrated with his time at Jayco: "In the Giro, my own lead-out man was sprinting against me—That was just bizarre"

Caleb Ewan and team changes seem inseparable. The Australian sprinter had a challenging stint at Jayco AlUla, which ended abruptly in January when he was unexpectedly removed from the Tour Down Under start list. Now, at INEOS Grenadiers, Ewan hopes for a fresh start and to rediscover his passion for cycling. In the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast, he opened up about his move.

"It’s one of the biggest teams in the world, and that definitely made the decision easier," Ewan began. "I’ve been approached by big teams before, but I’ve never actually ridden for a top-tier squad. When I was seventeen, my plan was always to turn pro with Team Sky when I turned twenty. That was already agreed upon with the team. But by the time I reached that age, they thought I wouldn’t develop further."

At the time, not making the jump to the British squad was disappointing, but fourteen years later, Ewan finally gets his chance. "To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to continue. I was in a tough situation and had no idea what the future held. It was a stressful period, but now I’m incredibly happy to be riding for INEOS."

Ewan hopes to finally sprint "normally" again at INEOS after struggles at Jayco

But is there even room for a pure sprinter in the INEOS Grenadiers squad? The British team isn’t exactly known for building a squad around a sprinter. "I think I can get enough support in the sprints. We definitely have riders in the team who fit well into a sprint train. Even though it’s not really part of the team’s culture, I’m convinced I’ll get good lead-outs."

"At Jayco AlUla, I barely had any sprint support," Ewan continues. "At Lotto, I had an amazing lead-out that believed in me. When I moved to Jayco, I didn’t feel that at all. Of course, it’s always difficult to build a strong connection right away. But in the Giro, my own lead-out man was sprinting against me—that was just bizarre to me. I was not used to that at all."

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Ewan still managed to regularly compete for the win in his Lotto era

Ewan set to make INEOS debut in Italy, hopes for Tour de France selection

His first chance to sprint for victory will likely come in Italy. "I’ll start my season at Coppi e Bartali and then head to the Tour de Romandie. Italy will be my first race in six months, so it’ll mostly be about getting used to everything and seeing how things go. In Romandie, I hope to be better and really show myself again."

But Ewan’s ultimate goal remains the Tour de France. "We’ll have to see how everything goes, but I really hope to make the Tour squad. There’s still a lot of work to do, and everything needs to go well, but I think I’ll get a chance from the team. I just hope to be at my best again, like in the years when I was competing for big wins."

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Ewan dreams of someday sprinting to victory in Milan-Sanremo, too

"Winning Milan-Sanremo is my big dream"

Still, the Australian has an even bigger ambition in his career. "I dream of winning Milan-Sanremo one day. It is a race that suits me and in which I think I have a chance. Of course it is getting harder and harder to win this race, but I think it would be great to win this monument one day. Not this year yet, but hopefully in the years to come."

Read also

It's official: Caleb Ewan leaves Jayco-AlUla after failed partnership and signs with INEOS Grenadiers

Drama surrounding Caleb Ewan: Sprint star has suddenly been removed from the Jayco AlUla website

Thomas criticizes Red Bull, Roglic and basically half the cycling world: "Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

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