Jayco AlUla DS Matthew Hayman confident that Caleb Ewan can find his best legs again: "He has already won at the highest level, why couldn't he do it again?"
Cycling
The transfer of Caleb Ewan to Team Jayco AlUla over from Lotto Dstny after five years in the Belgian team was one of those that didn't came without emotions and such. Now the big question is whether the so-called Pocket Rocket can relaunch his career, coming to the Australian team - an environment he knows quite well. WielerFlits spoke to Jayco AlUla's sports director Matthew Hayman about this.
"Caleb trained very hard in the winter and the plan was to win straight away in the Tour Down Under. But he got sick before that race, and in the national championship he was unlucky. That's why it didn't happen. Today the boys worked well with Max. It was his first time working with Caleb, but he did well."
With Dylan Groenewegen already in the team, how does Ewan fit in Jayco AlUla's plans? "The plan is to let him sprint again, win again. With Dylan we have someone who has been winning a lot for us over the last two years. But we have enough races where we need a sprinter. Dylan is going to the Tour, but Caleb had no problem doing the Giro. For him it was more about feeling good again and trying to win again."
"There are plenty of flat races and sprint opportunities throughout the year. Sometimes you put a lot of pressure on a sprinter if he is the only one who always has to perform. Of course Dylan wants to be on the Tour and perform. Caleb is just rebuilding after a few difficult years. The main thing was to give him the opportunity to become a top sprinter again. We are going to support him everywhere. He has already won at the highest level, why couldn't he do it again?"
Yet Hayman thinks that Lotto Dstny was little to blame for Ewan's departure. "Sometimes all you can do is change your environment. I do not know what happened. He comes to us now, he knows us from the past and we know him very well. At a certain point it just doesn't click anymore and the marriage is over. There's not much you can do about that. I can't say that we do anything different from Lotto."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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