Caleb Ewan keeps drawing comparisons with Australian cycling legend Robbie McEwen, even though in many ways they are poles apart.
There is considerable expectation in the sport about Ewan, who will start his first full season at the top level on Friday at Victoria’s Bay Classic criterium series.
Ewan is only 20 – four years younger than when McEwen became a full-time pro.
McEwen was extroverted and a sprinter’s sprinter, but Ewan is much quieter.
McEwen would say he was out to win a race – and then invariably back up his prediction – but Ewan would never dare be so bold.
Still, Orica-GreenEDGE boss Matt White says they are identical in one crucial way.
“He’s a winner – most sprinters are,” White said of Ewan.
“Robbie McEwen is a good comparison in that sense – Robbie was a born winner.
“He’d sell his grandmother if it meant he could win a bike race.
“Caleb is hungry like that.”
Asked about the different personalities, White replied: “that would be an understatement.
“The comparison between Caleb and Robbie is their commitment to winning,” he said.
White added that Ewan also has McEwen’s amazing talent.
“There certainly hasn’t been a pure sprinter like him come along since Robbie McEwen (in Australia),” he said.
Two years ago, Ewan confirmed his rich potential by winning the Bay Classic series.
This year he won the silver in the under-23 road race at the world championships.
Orica-GreeEDGE snapped him up and he rode in several senior races this season, including the Tour Down Under, the Commonwealth Games and the Tour of Beijing.
He has had the perfect apprenticeship.
Ewan’s maturity – a trait sometimes missing from top-level sprinters in any sport – has also impressed White.
The GreenEDGE boss recalled Ewan finishing second a few weeks ago in the opening stage at the Tour of Beijing.
Ewan had much more experienced teammates who were committed to supporting him.
“There were a couple of mistakes made and he sat down and learned from it,” White said.
“He wanted to find out what he’d done wrong and he was very honest with the guys.
“When you’re acting like that straight off the bat, as a 20-year-old, you’re gaining a lot of respect from your team-mates.”
The four-race Mitchelton Bay Classic series starts with a twilight round this Friday in Geelong.
Aljay
Guest
Wombat, is anyone expecting race wins against the big boys this season? I think everyone is aware this is his neopro season. The joy will be in watching him develop over the next couple if years. If he's 25 and getting spat out the back of big races like previous Australian "next big things" then we can call him overhyped.
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
Wombat, I take your point, but surely at the age of 20 he is doing remarkably well? Let's say this year he doesn't go to the grand tours, which is probably fair - he most likely does not have the engine for that yet - but he does go to some of the one week races - tour of Turkey, Poland, etc. Surely at those sorts of races he will start to build the engine required for the big races? No, they won't expect results in every race, but they will want to see him make the podium on some specifically targetted races, all with a view to building him into a grand tour stage winner in the future. The sense I get is that OGE are building a team of talented youngsters that will replace the Gerrans' of the squad in a couple of years time. Think of Ewan in this context and you will probably see what White and others do - a fantastic talent that is being developed carefully and methodically. The Crits and so forth are no doubt testing grounds for Ewan, places for him to develop his confidence and learn about racing in a lead-out train, so that when he goes over to Europe he has had extra experience to help deal with the added pressure he will probably experience there.
Wombat
Roar Rookie
To be brutally honest, I feel Ewan is "over hyped" and those expecting wins against "the big boys" or even the second tier sprinters during the main season are likely to come up disappointed. He has some speed and clearly high potential but his outings at Comm Games and even Tour of Beijing showed up that he is a long way from being strong enough or having a big enough "engine". It would not surprise to see him have a few HD/failures to make time cut if he is sent to some one week tours due to this deficiency. Hopefully OGE will be sensible with his preparation and race program for 2015. If he comes up with any early season results in AUS, then that's nice but not really meaningful in the wider context.