The Caleb Ewan Thread

[Alex Simmons/RST]

I don't know what all the fuss is about.

 

[Leinster]

Re:

Interesting that most seem to be taking Ewan's side on this, without knowing all of the background. MS have obviously invested heavily in Ewan, but it seems his head's been turned by the advances of other teams. If White's simply rewarding loyalty, I'd say that's admirable. And he's certainly got a lot of credit in the bank for the way he's run MS over the past few seasons. My guess is they'll have a successful Tour.

It’s not just that, though. MS have quite clearly been moving toward a GC focus for a couple of years now, so obviously a sprinter’s opportunities and support are going to be limited in such a squad. It’s completely understandable that Ewan would start looking around.

 

[yaco]

Re:

I don't eknow what all the fuss is about.

Fuss is MS is an Aussie branded team and the general public and the media want to see an Aussie rider at the TDF. Some Aussies are uncomfortable with the stars of the team being non Aussie. White is and will cop it from the media.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Re: Re:

I don't eknow what all the fuss is about.

Fuss is MS is an Aussie branded team and the general public and the media want to see an Aussie rider at the TDF. Some Aussies are uncomfortable with the stars of the team being non Aussie. White is and will cop it from the media.

I'm an Aussie. Still don't get the fuss. It's not the national team selection, it's a pro team.

 

[The Hegelian]

I think it's actually a good sign when a team overrides sentiment (especially national sentiment) for a well reasoned plan.

The more I consider it, the more I think it was a good decision. If you're going to commit to GC, then you have to properly commit.

Still, in terms of pure merit, Ewan totally deserved a spot. And as others have said, it does take something way from what would have been a great battle between young guns and old champs. There's no doubt he would be in the mix for victories.

 

[hazaran]

How is taking a bunch more TT rouleur types "committing to GC"? It doesn't move the needle at all for a TTT, they could have 16 guys and wouldn't go any faster, and they are hopeless for anything involving climbs.

 

[The Hegelian]

I think it clearly does move the needle a bit for the TTT. And 'a bit' might be the difference between a (GC) podium or not.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

I don't eknow what all the fuss is about.

Fuss is MS is an Aussie branded team and the general public and the media want to see an Aussie rider at the TDF. Some Aussies are uncomfortable with the stars of the team being non Aussie. White is and will cop it from the media.

I'm an Aussie. Still don't get the fuss. It's not the national team selection, it's a pro team.

I have no issue with the selection but pointing out the attitude of the average punter and the media - It probably means less media exposure in the Aussie media for the month of July - MS is a quirky team at times - The only WT team to not have a team presentation in 2018 and they should be having a team camp each year in Australia - Will add the hypocrisy of the Aussie cycling mafia is astounding - It's this cycling mafia who has strongly influenced Ewan to look at other options for the last 12+ months - Now Ewan looking at other options is probably a good move, but the hand-wringing by the cycling media after the decision to not take Ewan to the TDF is hypocrisy at its finest - Ultimately if Ewan was in super form he would be at the TDF.

 

[yaco]

Re:

How is taking a bunch more TT rouleur types "committing to GC"? It doesn't move the needle at all for a TTT, they could have 16 guys and wouldn't go any faster, and they are hopeless for anything involving climbs.

You must think selection occurs in a vacuum - All WT teams who target GC ( except for Sky ) can only have strong teams for 2 GT's - MS' priority for 2018 was the Giro and the Vuelta - TDF squad for GC was always going to be weaker, though they have tweaked it to make it a touch stronger since the exclusion of Ewan.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Re: Re:

I don't eknow what all the fuss is about.

Fuss is MS is an Aussie branded team and the general public and the media want to see an Aussie rider at the TDF. Some Aussies are uncomfortable with the stars of the team being non Aussie. White is and will cop it from the media.

I'm an Aussie. Still don't get the fuss. It's not the national team selection, it's a pro team.

I have no issue with the selection but pointing out the attitude of the average punter and the media - It probably means less media exposure in the Aussie media for the month of July - MS is a quirky team at times - The only WT team to not have a team presentation in 2018 and they should be having a team camp each year in Australia - Will add the hypocrisy of the Aussie cycling mafia is astounding - It's this cycling mafia who has strongly influenced Ewan to look at other options for the last 12+ months - Now Ewan looking at other options is probably a good move, but the hand-wringing by the cycling media after the decision to not take Ewan to the TDF is hypocrisy at its finest - Ultimately if Ewan was in super form he would be at the TDF.

Media will say anything to generate click bait. Meh. Personally I don't think Ewan is a good fit for the team and results

I hang in two other Aussie cycling forums and Ewan has not even been mentioned. Nothing on my cycling heavy FB feed either. I don't think it rates TBH. Maybe in the Southern Highlands it gets a post ride coffee chat.

 

[pedalsplus]

Re: Re:

I hang in two other Aussie cycling forums and Ewan has not even been mentioned. Nothing on my cycling heavy FB feed either. I don't think it rates TBH. Maybe in the Southern Highlands it gets a post ride coffee chat.

I agree, Aussie here too and I don't think will cause more than a ripple in the Aussie media.

The average Aussie does not know Ewan, "might" have heard of Michael Matthews and could possibly recognize Richie Porte if it was laid out in context - many will sill ask if Cadel Evans is still riding.

The most "aware" group of normal Australians in my experience are retirees because the stay up late watching the Grand Tours for the scenery and because for some reason am/talkback radio seems to take an occasional interest in cycling, particularly during grand tours.

The smart move for the team with a legitimate GC guy is dropping Ewan. After a very lean spring and only placings in TOC against a solid sprint field, Adam Yates Dauphine result [together with MS memories of the Giro] would have flipped the orientation of the TDF Team.

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

I don't know what all the fuss is about.

Agreed, there’s fair arguments for and against, tough decision to make.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

I hang in two other Aussie cycling forums and Ewan has not even been mentioned. Nothing on my cycling heavy FB feed either. I don't think it rates TBH. Maybe in the Southern Highlands it gets a post ride coffee chat.

I agree, Aussie here too and I don't think will cause more than a ripple in the Aussie media.

The average Aussie does not know Ewan, "might" have heard of Michael Matthews and could possibly recognize Richie Porte if it was laid out in context - many will sill ask if Cadel Evans is still riding.

The most "aware" group of normal Australians in my experience are retirees because the stay up late watching the Grand Tours for the scenery and because for some reason am/talkback radio seems to take an occasional interest in cycling, particularly during grand tours.

The smart move for the team with a legitimate GC guy is dropping Ewan. After a very lean spring and only placings in TOC against a solid sprint field, Adam Yates Dauphine result [together with MS memories of the Giro] would have flipped the orientation of the TDF Team.

I can assure you that MS aare very media conscious in July and January - They get out the ruler and measure how many column inches are in the paper each day - Expect less use for the ruler in July.

 

[rata de sentina]

Re: Re:

Ultimately if Ewan was in super form he would be at the TDF.

Completely agree. "Caleb has had 17 sprints this year and won two" -Matt White. If Ewan gave an indication that he was in the form to come through with a stage win he would be in the team. But he hasn't.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Re: Re:

I can assure you that MS aare very media conscious in July and January - They get out the ruler and measure how many column inches are in the paper each day - Expect less use for the ruler in July.

If that's the case then the best strategy for MS is to perform well in January and July and select a squad accordingly. I suspect they know better than any of us what selections to make.

 

[Wilba60]

Anyone involved in team sport from juniors to local senior teams to professional teams have heart wrenching stories of the players who miss out on the big games like Grand Finals. Look at the World Cup now with all of the teams playing, including Australia having 10 players missing each game. Tim Cahill, Australia's greatest ever scorer can't get on the pitch. I am sure that Matt White like every coach or Manager in the teams mentioned has a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc, so it wouldn't be strange to have 12-15 riders in the mix for a TDF start.

It would seem the change for MS has come through some better than (probably) predicted form for Adam Yates and Caleb being just a little off scoring some good wins. So the pendulum swings from equal billing for both in the big race, to Yates getting more support.

Big load on Impey to be the swingman and try and win the team some hilly stages and possibly Durbridge on some of the tougher flat to lumpy/cobble stages.

Hayman is an interesting choice. Is the team captain on the road that valuable? Is it a final reward for his services or could he have a dash at the cobble stage? I would of thought Mezgec could have done as well as Hayman in the TTT and then had some lone wolf duties to see if he could spring a surprise in the sprint and tough flat stages.

 

[Gigs_98]

I didn't really care too much about cycling for the last week so I only caught up with this story. I guess it makes sense for MS as Ewan hasn't been great anywhere outside MSR and they probably didn't expect him to win a stage. Meanwhile they probably hope Adam improved as much as Simon and is suddenly a serious tour contender.

Still I'm not happy about the decision. You don't treat your leader like and if you want him out of your tour team so badly at least make the decision a few weeks earlier. This completely f*cks up a whole year for one of the teams best riders, it is a huge punch in his face and at the end might be completely unnecessary. If Adam didn't drastically improve and is still only a top 10 rider he doesn't need that much mountain support. Give him one good climber but outside of that stick to the plan. A roleur heavy sprinter team will even help Yates in the TTT and the cobbles stage.
BTW I also don't think they did this because Ewan leaves the team but they definitely wouldn't have done it if he was staying.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Anyone involved in team sport from juniors to local senior teams to professional teams have heart wrenching stories of the players who miss out on the big games like Grand Finals. Look at the World Cup now with all of the teams playing, including Australia having 10 players missing each game. Tim Cahill, Australia's greatest ever scorer can't get on the pitch. I am sure that Matt White like every coach or Manager in the teams mentioned has a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc, so it wouldn't be strange to have 12-15 riders in the mix for a TDF start.

It would seem the change for MS has come through some better than (probably) predicted form for Adam Yates and Caleb being just a little off scoring some good wins. So the pendulum swings from equal billing for both in the big race, to Yates getting more support.

Big load on Impey to be the swingman and try and win the team some hilly stages and possibly Durbridge on some of the tougher flat to lumpy/cobble stages.

Hayman is an interesting choice. Is the team captain on the road that valuable? Is it a final reward for his services or could he have a dash at the cobble stage? I would of thought Mezgec could have done as well as Hayman in the TTT and then had some lone wolf duties to see if he could spring a surprise in the sprint and tough flat stages.

Hayman is great on the cobbles and very experienced. But this will be his last Tour you would think. Durbridge offers more in the TTT and is a team strong man on the flatter stages. Either they know Ewen is leaving or they expect him to leave and left him out. It's happened a lot in other teams and often it seems vindictive but in this case I'm 50/50 about it. If they were all in for Yates they would have known that long ago so why tell Ewen he's riding the Tour or expected to ride it if there were doubts he wouldn't be. That said I think he had a shot at some stage wins this year simply because some of the other sprinters have gone off the boil of late. You could argue that the lack of climbers is more of a problem for Yates, than including Ewen.

 

[yaco]

Too much over-analysis - MS had three leaders coming off contract - They wanted to retain two of these leaders - Once they found out Ewan was leaving you gotta make sure you keep the two other leaders, so there was a shift in priorities - Now if Ewan's form was outstanding he would have gone to the TDF - Not having Ewan has meant two changes - Out Ewan and Mezgec and in Nieve and Durbridge.

 

[Leinster]

Hayman is an interesting choice. Is the team captain on the road that valuable? Is it a final reward for his services or could he have a dash at the cobble stage? I would of thought Mezgec could have done as well as Hayman in the TTT and then had some lone wolf duties to see if he could spring a surprise in the sprint and tough flat stages.

Hayman’s job will be to get Yates to the finish in Roubaix without any time loss to the other GC contenders. If, once that task is assured, (ie Yates crosses the final sector in the same group as the MJ) the stage win is still in play, then and only then will Hayman have license to go for it.

By that time, Sagan, GvA, and half the Trek and Soudal teams will as likely be up the road knocking 7 shades of sugar out of each other, so I can’t see it happening, but Hayman is very definitely valuable to the team.

 

[42x16ss]

Hayman is an interesting choice. Is the team captain on the road that valuable? Is it a final reward for his services or could he have a dash at the cobble stage? I would of thought Mezgec could have done as well as Hayman in the TTT and then had some lone wolf duties to see if he could spring a surprise in the sprint and tough flat stages.

Hayman’s job will be to get Yates to the finish in Roubaix without any time loss to the other GC contenders. If, once that task is assured, (ie Yates crosses the final sector in the same group as the MJ) the stage win is still in play, then and only then will Hayman have license to go for it.

By that time, Sagan, GvA, and half the Trek and Soudal teams will as likely be up the road knocking 7 shades of sugar out of each other, so I can’t see it happening, but Hayman is very definitely valuable to the team.

Where Hayman also really excels is in the single mountain stages with a MTF. His work for Chaves in the 2016 Vuelta was tremendous, and he was possibly the best domestique in the race. The pave won't be the only reason he's there.

I expect at least one of Bauer, Hayman and Durbridge will be allowed to ride for the win, and at least one will have Yates riding shotgun.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

I wonder about MSR - yes of course anyone still left at the end is going well for sure - but the final sprint would have played out differently had they not been still chasing Nibali. Winning a losing bunch kick is different to winning a winning bunch kick.

 

[yaco]

Think it would have ended up the same. I am more worried about people still whinging that Trentin chased down Nibali. Gets there and he wins the sprint. FDJ and QS would always work to bring back Nibali.

 

[Strawberry_Jams]

Has anyone noticed how Ewan seems to constantly sprint away/on the other side from everyone else? Which usually means he spends way too long in the wind compared to the rest. I've got this feeling that he just thinks he's better than everyone and that he can do it in his own lowdown style (which I don't think really works that well). Either that or he doesn't feel confident enough to be prepared to lose by getting boxed in and wants to get out as soon as possible. Whatever the reason its not really working and if I was a fan of him I'd start to get annoyed.

 

[myrideissteelerthanyours]

Re:

Has anyone noticed how Ewan seems to constantly sprint away/on the other side from everyone else? Which usually means he spends way too long in the wind compared to the rest. I've got this feeling that he just thinks he's better than everyone and that he can do it in his own lowdown style (which I don't think really works that well). Either that or he doesn't feel confident enough to be prepared to lose by getting boxed in and wants to get out as soon as possible. Whatever the reason its not really working and if I was a fan of him I'd start to get annoyed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9BCc6C2syU&t=02m46s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZwvgQAxBAI&t=01m49s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuvN-sMxFZQ&t=04m01s
It doesn't look that way to me but I'm just a casual fan of him. When I watch the Ewan "best of" videos I notice they edit it so you only see him supermanning over the final 50m.