"I am close to my best form" - Can Caleb Ewan return to Grand Tour stage winning ways at Giro d'Italia?

Once considered one of the biggest bunch sprint threats in the entirety of the peloton, Caleb Ewan has suffered a difficult last couple of seasons. After a return to Team Jayco AlUla, can the Australian get back to Grand Tour stage winning ways at the upcoming Giro d'Italia?

"I think I am close to my best form again," the 29-year-old Australian, who last tasted victory at a Grand Tour on stage 7 of the 2021 Giro d'Italia, in his pre-race press conference. "I don't really have to prove anything anymore, but of course I want to win more again. Once the competition starts, I will know better where I stand, but my values ​​​​in training are top. If I can reach my old level again somewhere, it is at this team.”

In his last Grand Tour outing at the 2023 Tour de France, Ewan left the race on stage 13 and was subsequently heavily criticised by his then-team boss at Lotto Dstny. This fallout is eventually what led to the 11-time Grand Tour stage winner to depart Lotto Dstny and return home to the Aussie-based Team Jayco AlUla over the off-season.

With no Tour de France on the programme this year, it's all about the Giro d'Italia for Ewan. “It was actually an easy choice to ride the Giro and miss the Tour,” he concludes. "I'm happy that I can skip the Tour and try to finish the Giro. I've wanted that for a while. The fact that there is still a sprint in the last stage is a bonus. It was actually an easy decision to do this year to go for the Giro, my main goal for 2024.”