"The one that I've got my eye on and the one I dream of winning" - Caleb Ewan wants Australian national jersey after criterium victory

Starting his 2024 in brilliant style, Caleb Ewan crowned himself the Australian National Criterium Champion on Friday morning. The one he wants however, is victory in the road race.

“The road race is definitely the one that I've got my eye on and the one I dream of winning,” the sprint star, who's returned to Team Jayco AlUla for the 2024 season, told Cycling News. “It would be nice to ride my first season back in the Australian team in the national champs colours so that's been a really big focus for me in the pre-season, I've been really working hard towards that.”

Ewan has never before worn the green and gold of Australian national champion, his best finish in the road race coming back in 2015 when he finished second behind Heinrich Haussler.

“The way that we will be able to race I think will help me a lot because I guess we'll have guys in breakaways and covering moves, where I don't have to do it,” Ewan says of the potential race tactics. “I can really just sit back in the bunch and try to conserve as much energy as possible and really wait for those last few laps."

“Last year, there were a few times that I probably had to move with some breakaways and stuff," he concludes. "I really need to get around as easy as possible and not have to chase guys down or anything like that. I think as far as that goes, you know, it'll be much easier having a strong team with me.”