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Caleb Ewan’s team manager at the Tour Down Under has given the teenager a perfect score for his stunning ride on Sunday night.
Ewan, 19, positioned himself perfectly and finished third in the one-day classic, the curtain raiser ahead of the Tour’s start on Tuesday.
The only riders to beat him were the two best sprinters in the field, with Marcel Kittel passing fellow German star Andre Greipel on the line.
There are massive wraps on Ewan, who is making his WorldTour debut this week.
He already has a contract with top Australian team Orica-GreenEDGE and will join them in August after a final season of under-23 racing.
Ewan is racing at the Tour as a one-off start with local composite team UniSA.
“That was sensational – that was as good as you’re going to get,” said UniSA team manager and long-time Australian cycling coach Dave Sanders.
“That’s a 10 out of 10.
“I would have been happy with a top five (finish).”
Sanders said he was not surprised that Ewan had done so well and added it was to be expected that the teenager was unable to out-sprint Kittel and Greipel.
The result shows Ewan could be a surprise package in the Tour, which starts with a potentially-decisive 135km stage in the Barossa.
The Menglers Hill climb less than 15km from the finish at Angaston could shake up the field and while Ewan is a sprinter, he has already shown he is no climbing slouch.
Ewan said after Sunday’s finish that he found the experience frightening, because by the end of the year he will have to go up against Kittel and Greipel in sprints on a regular basis.
But he added it was a big confidence boost ahead of the six-day Tour.
“I know I can be up there at the pointy end of the race,” Ewan said.
“Hopefully I can be up there again in the next few stages and get a better result.”
Australian cycling legend Cadel Evans is a big fan and said Ewan has the right attitude to succeed.
“His result yesterday, it’s a great starting point for him to build on at his age,” Evans said.
“Winning against Greipel and Kittel, it’s not actually so far to go and he has plenty of time to make those improvements.
“Caleb, he’s doing everything right – his mentality, work ethic and attitude is that of someone far beyond his age.
“If he can just continue on going like that, the results will come without the need for any pressure or expectations.”
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