Despite two top ten finishes, young Australian speedster Caleb Ewan is struggling to make an impact at the pointy end of the Giro d’Italia’s sprint stages.
And while the Orica-GreenEDGE rider is not alone on that score – with German superstars Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) dominating the flat stages – his failure to even be in contention for the minor placings highlights the gulf that exists between teams entirely dedicated to their sprinters and teams that aren’t.
Make no mistake; this is not a criticism of Ewan. The 22-year-old is still learning his craft and the knowledge he takes away from this Giro will be invaluable.
On each of the flat stages he has been with the lead group of sprinters at the end, but when the heavy hitters have exploded into full sprint mode, the young Aussie has been just a few wheels too far back to have any real impact.
Once again, he is not alone in this, and when class sprinters like Arnaud Demare (FDJ) and Elia Viviani (Sky) are left battling it out for the minor placings time after time, it gives some indication of the rare form that both Kittel and Greipel are in.
Before this Giro started I was confident that Ewan could win a stage or two to go with his Vuelta victory over Peter Sagan and John Degenkolb last year. Now I’m not so sure. I haven’t written him off completely because he is too talented a rider to be totally dismissed, but without the support from Orica-GreenEdge that Kittel and Greipel get from their teams, it is going to be hard work.
For Etixx-QuickStep and Lotto-Soudal, sprinting is their bread and butter. Their one and only goal in Grand Tours is stage wins and it is not by accident that they provide their fast men with the strongest and most highly drilled lead out trains.
They have turned sprinting into an art form. It is not easy to find cohesion in the chaos of the last hectic kilometres of a flat stage, but these teams do it. They soak up the bruising brutality of the swirling peloton, defy physics as they sweep around bends and road furniture that has no business being anywhere near a bike race when it is at its fastest, and pilot their sprinter unscathed to the perfect launching spot almost every time.
Their dedication to the cause is both fearless and selfless. And when you have the likes of Kittel or Greipel to finish off all your hard work, it also becomes highly rewarding.
Success breeds success. Give these teams a sniff of victory and they’ll chase it down. What sets them apart from the others though is that they have the resources to make it happen – and by resources I mean a sprint dedicated lead out train.
Unfortunately for riders like Caleb Ewan and Elia Viviani, their teams’ focus in this race is on the hairpin bends of the mountains rather than the hurly burly of the sprints. As a result their squads carry a different breed of domestique, ones that can support General Classification riders on torturous climbs and keep them out of wind and trouble at all other times. The needs of the speedster become secondary.
The General Classification rider is the bane of the sprinter’s life, sucking up support and resources as the team chases a good overall result rather than the short term glory of a stage win.
But it is not all bad. In fact it can be a good thing to go into a race without support. It teaches a young sprinter how to scrap and fight for position, how to read a race and follow the right wheels, and how to make the most of every opportunity, no matter how small. It gives them an appreciation of the work and sacrifice that is needed to achieve results at the top level.
Most of all they learn not to take their wins for granted. After all, it’s hard to get ahead of yourself if you’re getting battered from pillar to post on a regular basis!
Of course some sprinters excelled without support. Racers like Robbie McEwen regularly surfed to victory following the wheels of opposition sprinters and their trains. Mark Cavendish at his best could do it as well. The trick is knowing who to follow and when.
It’s time for Ewan to try and do something similar. His limited support from Orica-GreenEdge will only take him so far. If he wants to really make an impact on this Giro then it’s time to strike out on his own.
All of which makes it no easier for a kid in just his second Grand Tour.
Sean Lee
Expert
Hi Edward, yep, I have no doubt Caleb's day will come as well. Fantastic effort against Greipel last night too! Loved the way he used Greipel's leadout train too! Pity he got squeezed into the barriers and had to stop pedalling for a moment. You have to admire the sacrifices elite sports people make don't you? Talent will only take you so far. To get right to the top you need dedication and drive as well. Caleb certainly has that. Bernaud Tomic on the other hand.......
Edward
Guest
Get your hand off it, "......learning NOT......". He's actually not even 22 yet. I've followed him since he was 10. I've seen him training in the dark on morning frost in Bowral then putting in a full day at high school. He used to try so hard at training at Dunc Gray that he used to be physically sick. You have no idea of what he is capable of. Even Greipel said Caleb's day would come. You are a wombat writing anyone off when the are so young. Glad you weren't Mike Hussey's sportsagent
Sean Lee
Expert
I agree that there has been an awful lot of hype surrounding Caleb and I think that has led to some unfair expectations of someone who is only at the beginning of their career. We must remember that Caleb is only into his second full year of pro-cycling and is still just 21 years of age. Unfortunately Aussie sports fans can be an impatient lot, and if success doesn't come straight away the knives and criticism seems to come out. Caleb will win races as his body matures and he becomes accustomed to the harder/longer/faster stages of worldtour racing. Whether he can consistently beat the super sprinters such as Greipel or Kittel and the generation that follows them remains to be seen but I have no doubt that he will at least be competitive against the best. Personally I think his progress is tracking pretty well. We won't know for sure how successful he is going to be for at least another two years or so but he certainly hasn't 'peaked' yet and won't for quite some time.
wombat
Guest
This Giro has been a much needed reality check for both Ewan AND many AUS cycling fans who've bought into the hype that has surrounded him for some time. The sprinters present at the start of this Giro are a significant class above what he faced at last years Vuelta or any other major race and a quantum leap ahead of his with regards to top speed and power, let alone engine. Almost to a man, they are also much larger physically and whilst there is scope for his further physical development; barring nefarious means he is never going to be in their ball-park with regards to physique or power which is likely to see him at a significant handicap in full bunch kicks. Sadly at this point, his ability to survive uphill when the pace is clapped on is not significantly in advance of the pure flat guys so he. too, is generally ruled out of most selective finishes. Maybe further familiarisation with lead-out men will be of major help to him; especially learning NOT to lose his man's wheel (as on the two Dutch stages) but there are plenty of questions for his future to which we, as yet, have no conclusive answers.
Sean Lee
Expert
Yes, it has been quiet for OGE but not unfruitful. More on that in my column tomorrow! ;-)
Justin Curran
Roar Rookie
It's been a quiet Giro by OGE standards. They would be getting used to stage wins and pink jerseys raining from the heavens in past years but not so far this time around. I suppose Michael Matthews has been responsible for some of those victories and is a more seasoned professional than Caleb. Good to see Chaves mixing it up with the big GC riders on the hills. Hopefully he can have a good solid top 10 finish.
Sean Lee
Expert
He is learning all the time but the day will come when he is regularly making his presence felt against the big boys. Can he win a stage at this Giro? Yes, but everything will have to fall perfectly for him.
Sean Lee
Expert
Yes, he seems to get bustled out of the way or boxed in at times which prevents him from having a clear run at the sprint. Still he is only young and the more he races the more experienced he will become. I'm sure he will develop strategies that see him contesting the sprints as a genuine chance sooner rather than later. It will be exciting when he does put it all together because the talent is there. It'll do wonders for his confidence when he does pull off a big win against esteem company. It would be nice to see him on the podium before the end of this race.
Howie
Roar Pro
It has been interesting watching him during the final couple of kilometers during the flat stages. He, at best, has only 1 team mate during this period and the team mate is just trying to get him into the first 20 or so riders. Then Ewan is absolutely trying to get onto the right wheel. It just looks like he gets barged out of the usually decent position he sets up. Maybe he needs more mongrel in him to survive without a train. I loved watching Sean Kelly at his peak when he rarely had any train (nor did anyone else then really). The barging and elbows would fly over that last 2 km but particularly the last 500m. Ewan may well have a couple of chances later in the race as the main sprinters drop out.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
Yeah definitely think this will be a great learning exercise for him ... can he pick up on who to follow near the pointy end of a sprint?? I hope so ... would love to see him get up for at least one stage win this Giro!