"This performance gives me confidence for the chances to come" - Caleb Ewan takes positives from third place in Bayonne
Cycling
Caleb Ewan is a rider who frequently struggles with positioning, and the Tour de France may just be the strongest field all year long when it comes to the sprinters. However, the Pocket Rocket has ridden quite well on the first sprint of the race, finishing third.
“This performance gives me confidence for the chances to come. The legs felt good and if I can start my sprint from a better position, that win is coming soon. As expected, this was a really nervous one but we did well with the team," Ewan said in a post-race interview. The Australian managed to position himself quite well towards the finale, despite missing key leadout man Jasper de Buyst who has been injured in a crash over the weekend.
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Ewan, who is pursuing his first Grand Tour stage win since the 2021 Giro, was well positioned into the sprint and had a strong final kick which saw him rise to third place, behind only Jasper Philipsen and Phil Bauhaus. "The level here is really high and almost every top sprinter is present. So it was an enormous battle for the best positions," he acknowledges.
"Of course we missed Jasper at the very end but we had to change plans today and did well. It was a hectic sprint but I felt really good. I was maybe a little too far back when I started my sprint but we have to take the positives from today. With this form, I feel there will be some nice things to come." Today's finale into Nogaro will be a new opportunity, where he hopes to succeed in what would be a very important win.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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🇫🇷 #TDF2023 Solid start to the sprint opportunities at the Tour 👊
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