"The supposed deal with Astana and Vinokourov fell apart and now he has nothing" - Johan Bruyneel on Caleb Ewan's mystery status with Jayco AlUla

Caleb Ewan's future in pro cycling is still uncertain. The latest report has it that he will not retire according to his own agent, but it can be given as close to certain that he is no longer with Team Jayco AlUla despite his supposed contract until 2025. What has happened exactly is still not fully known, but Johan Bruyneel has shared his thoughts on the current situation.

"We don't know what's going on with Caleb Ewan other than what we've seen, but it's clear that something is going on," Bruyneel said in 'The Move' podcast with Spencer Martin. "The first news that he was not on the list for Down under that was already a bit of an alarm, but then seeing that he's not on the website, now I've heard rumours that he was negotiating his exit to Astana".

"Astana is in need of riders who can score [UCI] points, they have new money, Chinese money so I don't know... The rumour is he was trying to leave and then the supposed deal with Astana and Vinokourov fell apart and now he has nothing".

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The Australian sprinter broke his contract with Lotto at the end of 2023 so as to join the Australian team where he had thrived in the past, but the relationship seems to have failed and prematurely ended. The two-year contract may have been re-negotiated as a report suggested he was close to having his contract bought by the XDS Astana Team still back in August. At the time being, the team's website continues to display only 29 riders, with Ewan being the one absentee. 

"I checked Jayco AlUla they have 29 riders so they have 1 spot but maybe they're taking advantage of the situation saying 'ok you wanted to leave, hey you're expensive for us, you didn't perform that well you only won 3 races last year not great races', plus after some years changing teams he's starting to have the reputation of being a difficult guy to manage," Bruyneel argues.

The 30-year old still has the legs to be in the World Tour, having won on a few occasions last year, but had a difficult patch and is now facing a very difficult situation. "It's not clear what's going on but it's clear, if he wants to keep racing he will find a team but he will have to lower his salary ambitions," the pundit added.

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