Ewan will be the lead rider for Belgian outfit Lotto Soudal when the 2022 Tour de France makes its Grand Depart in Copenhagen on Friday, with the team targeting stage victories.
It has been an up and down season for the 27-year-old Australian, who has failed to return to his early season form after a crash on the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia.
The Sydney product will once again be one of the top sprinters in the peloton at Le Tour and former star sprinter and lead-out man Mark Renshaw says despite recent struggles Ewan’s talent and pure speed should have him contending for stage victories.
“Caleb started the year off with a bang and I think he would’ve won many stages at the Giro had he not had that crash,” Renshaw said.
“I think that was a big hit to him mentally and physically which he has suffered through in his performances since then.
“However, if you’ve seen the photos of him in training and knowing how desperate he will be to get an early win, it’s pretty clear he is going to be a real contender for victory on sprint stages.”
One thing which surprised Renshaw was the team Lotto Soudal has named for the Tour de France, specifically with the lack of an established lead-out for Ewan.
Renshaw, who famously was the lead-out man for Mark Cavendish for many of the Manxman’s 34 Tour de France stage wins, said he was concerned that Ewan wouldn’t have the support riders required to hold off his rivals.
“For me, he is missing some experience in his lead-out,” Renshaw said.
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg has been named in the Lotto Soudal team and he has good pedigree but I’m just not sure that enough support is there for Caleb.
“Philippe Gilbert is someone who can guide him through the peloton, but I just feel they’ve put Caleb in the position where he will have to spin off the wheel of a rival sprinter because they don’t have a true lead-out for him.
“Nevertheless, Caleb is a rider who loves to peak at the right time and there is no question for me he will be in contention for stage victories at this year’s tour.”
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