Caleb Ewan: "I am really happy with the shape I am in"

After a dominating sprint win, Caleb Ewan has started his European season off on the right foot, after a bout of illness has changed his initial plans of travelling to the UAE Tour.

“We knew this stage was going to be a tough one. Even for me, it was a bit of a mystery whether I would survive the climb or not. But I felt really good today and the team just did a great job. They controlled the race and protected me perfectly leading into and on the climb. Due to the steady pace, the attacks didn’t go far and going into the descent with around five of my teammates gave me that extra boost to finish it off," Ewan said after the finale of what was a perfect day for him, that brought the second win of his season.

After making it through the final climb, where Peter Sagan was dropped, Ewan had a perfect lead out from Lotto Soudal who did a whole-team effort to get the Australian in a winning position. “I’ve already shown this season that I got stronger uphill and that I am developing as a rider. I am really happy with the shape I am in. It really was a successful test for what’s to come.”

He completed: “We have a very strong team for this race. Tim targets a nice spot on GC so now it’s my turn to help my teammates. Tim already did an impressive lead-out today so he is clearly in great shape.”

With the remaining two stages being quite hilly, it's unlikely to see Ewan in the discussion for the stage win again, so he will be riding in support of his teammate and getting his racing legs sharp for the goals to come.