Giro d'Italia | Caleb Ewan headlines Lotto Soudal in search of sprint wins

Lotto Soudal have been struggling this season with the pressure of a possible relegation to Pro Team level, and they are heading into the Giro d'Italia with the need for strong results to gather important points. Caleb Ewan will be leading the team, as he seeks to take wins in the flat stages.

The Australian hasn't had the best season so far, affected by ilnesses that have forced him to miss out on Milano-Sanremo and several spring classics which he was building up to. Despite this, he has five wins to his name already this year, with a successful comeback last month at the Tour of Turkey where he took two stage wins including the hilltop finish at Eceabat. 

There will be a big collective focus in assisting Ewan. He isn't expected to complete the race, as he has not finished any of the four Giro d'Italia editions that he's began - however he has five stage wins to his name. His leadout will be heavy with German trio Roger Kluge, Rüdiger Selig and Michael Schwarzmann set to guide him through the flat stages.

The team is then completed with stage hunters. Thomas de Gendt will be ambitioning a return to the top step, which hasn't happened since the 2021 Vuelta a Catalunya, and Harm Vanhoucke will be a climber to consider in the many mountain stages the Giro has to offer. Sylvain Moniquet and Matthew Holmes complete the lineup and will likely have similar ambitions, besides assisting Ewan.

Lotto Soudal for Giro d'Italia: Caleb Ewan, Roger Kluge, Rüdiger Selig, Michael Schwarzmann, Sylvain Moniquet, Thomas de Gendt, Harm Vanhoucke and Matthew Holmes.