Ewan grabs double
ORICA-SCOTT’S Caleb Ewan claimed back-to-back People’s Choice Classic crowns edging out the Tour Down Under’s star attraction Peter Sagan at Adelaide’s East End last night.
The Australian pocket rocket had good legs to smash past the prized sprinters of the peloton in a copycat performance of last year when the 22-year-old claimed the prologue before winning two stages for his Australian team – stage one and six – of the UCI World Tour in SA in 2016.
Ewan was ecstatic with the win and claiming 2000 euros in prizemoney.
“Obviously this is a great race to build your confidence, and I sprinted quite early – earlier than I would have hoped – but I just got a whole lot of confidence going into the next week of racing,” Ewan said.
“He’s (Peter Sagan) the best rider in the world and to beat him in the sprint (is great).”
Slovakian Sagan, who had a crack at becoming a bigger attraction than he already is at his first Tour Down Under since 2010 when he headed to the front of the bunch, had to be content with third place while his Bora-hansgrohe teammate Sam Bennett from Ireland claimed second.
Italy’s Niccolo Bonifazio from Bahrain-Merida finished fourth while Belgian Edward Theuns from TrekSegrafredo’s jagged fifth place in an exciting finale.
But for the first time Ewan didn’t get a peck on the cheek from podium girls at the Tour Down Under after the state government last year decided to oust the tradition.
Ewan was presented his prizes by junior cyclists and the presentation went without any awkward glitches.
And there was no chance of any members of the peloton being sanctioned for misbehaving after Sagan in 2013 apologised via video for what looked like a pinch on the backside of a podium girl at the Tour of Flanders.
But it was a relaxed start for riders of the 50.6km criterium in the East End.
With most of the teams blowing out the early season cobwebs and settling down to nervous racing in a big bunch it was Will Clark from Cannondale-Drapac who claimed the first sprint.
The race picked up pace on lap 19 when the peloton started getting twitchy as the favourites were using their teams to conserve energy before the first finale and the curtain-raiser to the 2017 edition of the Tour Down Under race proper.