The Caleb Ewan Thread

[Red Rick]

Abhorrent signing for Jayco, unless Lotto Dstny are paying him his money just to leave and Jayco are paying him peanuts.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Agree, Ewan is such a useless rider and character

 

[Cookster15]

I haven't really followed Ewan closely enough to understand his fall from grace. A few comments above suggesting why Ewan lost the plot. So what is the real reason he lost motivation? Saying he is such a useless rider and character isn't helpful.

2019 10 wins, including 3 TdF and 2 Giro wins
2020 7 wins, including 2 TdF wins
2021 6 wins, including 2 Giro wins and 2nd in MSR.

Then the wheels fell off. Why? You don't have a season like 2019 if you are a useless character. Hell, you don't get good enough to be a professional bike rider if you have a bad attitude. Not possible.

 

[Bolder]

I haven't really followed Ewan closely enough to understand his fall from grace. A few comments above suggesting why Ewan lost the plot. So what is the real reason he lost motivation? Saying he is such a useless rider and character isn't helpful.

2019 10 wins, including 3 TdF and 2 Giro wins
2020 7 wins, including 2 TdF wins
2021 6 wins, including 2 Giro wins and 2nd in MSR.

Then the wheels fell off. Why? You don't have a season like 2019 if you are a useless character. Hell, you don't get good enough to be a professional bike rider if you have a bad attitude. Not possible.

My thoughts, alluded to above, is that he didn't recover well from his 2021 crash at the Tour, he started getting a bit gun shy, maybe lashed out in private at the team, which needed him to win to avoid relegation.

He still won 7 races in 22 but they were all minor, and I think he had surgery on his collarbone, there was some kind of dispute over the Commonwealth Games and the WC with Cycling Australia. Then De Lie started to get results and maybe Ewan felt disrespected. There must have been a lot of tension and pressure on the team.

Then he didn't come through at the Tour this year, where he had a sprint train. But Lotto was wrong in my book to publicly question his commitment after he dropped out. It degenerated from there.

It may have been a situation like Bennett's at QS, something that should have been handled in private played out in public. I'm sure there is plenty of blame to go around.

I dunno, I've always been a fan because he's such an improbable physical specimen.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Abhorrent signing for Jayco, unless Lotto Dstny are paying him his money just to leave and Jayco are paying him peanuts.

Ewan did a great sprint in stage 4 of the 2023 Tour. Made Philipsen work for it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFFdxDgCP2s


He clearly still has the level. Was probably rotting away at Lotto ...now he's back on an Aussie team.

Looks like a good signing to me.

 

[yaco]

Abhorrent signing for Jayco, unless Lotto Dstny are paying him his money just to leave and Jayco are paying him peanuts.

This is a Jerry Ryan signing. Initial contact made with jerry who then passed it on to the management team at Jayco who ticked it off. This is how Bling got back to Jayco.

 

[Samamba]

I am very interesting about the Walscheid - Ewan duo tho. Huge and small together. Already spammed Lelangue with tweets back in the day when Walscheid came free to get him as a leadout, think he can be massive in that role.

On the other hand, I still simply think Ewan isn't made for modern chaotic sprints. He can do better than what he's showed today cause most of it were mental (scared and just not motivated) issues, his last 50m acceleration is still there.

 

[yaco]

Walscheid will probably be the second last man behind Stewart. The train should work well because Walscheid will get Ewan into position for the last km.

 

[StryderHells]

This is a Jerry Ryan signing. Initial contact made with jerry who then passed it on to the management team at Jayco who ticked it off. This is how Bling got back to Jayco.

Gerry not Jerry.

100% agree this take on how Ewan ended back at Jayco, Ryan and Ewan have always had a good relationship so it would be no surprise that Ewan and his management contacted Ryan directly.

 

[yaco]

Interesting that the TDU organizers wasted no time in announcing Ewan as a marquee rider for the event which is no surprise as he is Australian and he has the third most stage victories with 9. The organisers were disappointed that Lotto Dstny declined the invitation in 2023 and therefore Ewan worked without a team - At least this time the TDU informed Jayco about the press release unlike S.Yates in the 2023 edition.

 

[Unchained]

Agree, Ewan is such a useless rider and character

Congratulations to Caleb, his Australian victory, showcasing a Australian sponsor, in front of a mostly Australian crowd. Pulling the trigger early in a new kit, showing good form, exceptional speed. Rider,management and sponsors are likely pleased with the result

 

[yaco]

Ewan looked super fast - We'll get a better idea at the TDU.

 

[Samamba]

Ewan looked super fast - We'll get a better idea at the TDU.

He looked fast at the beginning of last season too, that didn't really disappear. Jayco will definitely be able to position him better than the Ausie team last season ofcourse, so hopefully for him he can start the season with a lot of confidence this time.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

I am very interesting about the Walscheid - Ewan duo tho. Huge and small together. Already spammed Lelangue with tweets back in the day when Walscheid came free to get him as a leadout, think he can be massive in that role.

On the other hand, I still simply think Ewan isn't made for modern chaotic sprints. He can do better than what he's showed today cause most of it were mental (scared and just not motivated) issues, his last 50m acceleration is still there.

I agree, Walscheid could be the man who makes a difference. He is super good on almost all distances as long as they are flat, and seems to have completely recovered from his bad crash of 2022 or 2023. Lots of slipstream for Caleb, and Walscheid himself can win hard sprints.

Nice to see Ewan win, as he did today. At the end of the day, he‘s still a likeable guy - though the way he abandoned the Tour last year was extremely disappointing.

 

[AmRacer]

So he complained about he's teammates infront of tv-cameras.

 

[Rob5091]

So he complained about he's teammates infront of tv-cameras.

Not how to win friends and influence people ...

 

[yaco]

He made similar claims in the team video, although he toned down the language.

 

[Unchained]

He made similar claims in the team video, although he toned down the language.

You have Giro sprint results w almost no leadouts ..just drag racing and Caleb is not boxed in, not climbing effectively, and doesn't have the horsepower, certainly not anything to do with teammates not playing their part.
You see guys not climbing well like Fabio Jakobsen,Fernando Gaviria and you don't see or hear belly aching about what the team is not doing!! Tim Merlier has something from 100 meters that Ewan doesn't have now and never did reality is reality.. And the old school dedicated sprinter roles play out but w Wout and MVP and others, there are riders who are not known as pure sprinters with more gas in the tank than Ewan.
Jayco has their squad upside down w current signings, don't know what they are going after big picture, if they are shooting for stage wins in anything you have to be able to at least get close to the target. Someone needs to hold a press conference and confirm that Luke Plapp is not the team leader and best sprinter on the team, my money is on Luke.

 

[proffate]

It seems to me these Giro sprints have been long and fast, more suited to big boys than little Caleb, and also the field is really strong. His second in the sprint today was entirely respectable, although different from a "real" 2nd. His legs are good enough to win, he just needs luck and a better attitude.