EWAN RIDES INTO CONTENTION
A crash scuppered Caleb Ewan’s Tour de France, but the world titles now beckon, writes EMMA GREENWOOD
CALEB Ewan will need every bit of luck to go his way if he is to be a chance of winning a maiden world championship in Belgium next week. Luck is not something Ewan has had a lot of in 2021, though.
A genuine green jersey chance at this year’s Tour de France after winning a pair of stages in the Giro d’Italia, Ewan crashed out in the sprint to the line in stage three, suffering a complex fracture of his right collarbone.
The injury required surgery to have plates and screws inserted, resulting in Ewan missing Spain’s grand tour, the Vuelta, and the Olympics, before returning to racing in Belgium in late August. And he won a stage of the Benelux Tour held in Belgium and the Netherlands, just weeks ago, to show he will be ready for the 268km UCI world championship road race on September 26.
“I didn’t know how my legs would feel when I opened up the sprint. But in general a finish like that really suits me, when it’s uphill, but it was a super tough day,” Ewan told cyclingnews.com
“We saw attacks going early on, with 50km to go, and so it wasn’t an easy win, but I’m very happy with it. My team did a great job.”
But Ewan will have a tougher job at the world championships, with the course that starts from Antwerp before heading southeast towards Leuven and finishing on the sloping Geldenaaksevest containing plenty of short, sharp climbs.
Three-time Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen - who also rode for the Belgian Lotto team that employs Ewan - felt the world championship course would be a bridge too far for the young gun.
“For the worlds, I’m honestly not seeing Caleb as a contender,” McEwen said.
“I won’t completely discount him, but after crashing out of the Tour there’s the rehab part, and he had a few little complications coming back.
“He’s bringing himself back into some form and had a win recently in the Benelux Tour in one of the sprints - a tougher little finish.
“But the worlds is a whole different proposition.
“And I honestly think that out of the riders that we have available, the type of course it is would suit a guy like Michael Matthews much better.”
Matthews, who rides for TeamBikeExchange in Europe, will lead the Australian team with Ewan. After finishing seventh last year, he could be Australia’s best chance.
“I think the type of terrain, it could be better suited to Matthews,” McEwen said.
“It’s a technical course - lot of short, sharp climbs, it changes direction, loops here, loops there, it’s quite a complicated little course.
“That type of course, (Ewan) at his very best, maybe he would get around it with a reduced bunch - but I think it’ll be much harder than that.”
The Australian team includes Harry Sweeny (Qld), Luke Durbridge (WA), Miles Scotson (SA), Nicholas Schultz (Qld), Robert Stannard (NSW) and Nathan Haas (ACT).
The 94th edition of the UCI road world championships begin on Sunday, with the elite men’s individual time-trial.
That will be the first of 11 events, the event concluding with the elite women’s and elite men’s road races the following weekend.
A team of 20 Australian athletes will contest four events at the championships, including Tour de France stage winners Matthews and Ewan, in-form sprinter Chloe Hosking, and Tokyo Olympians Lucas Plapp, Amanda Spratt and Tiffany Cromwell.