Caleb Ewan eyes revenge in 2020 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
Botched tactics cost Caleb Ewan in last year’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Fresh, fit and firing, Australia’s top sprinter says he’s learned from those mistakes and has signalled a warning to other riders.
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Caleb Ewan will enter next month’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race with revenge on his mind after an “unlucky” finale cost him in last year’s one-day classic.
Australia’s premier sprinter, who last July spectacularly announced himself on the Tour de France stage with three wins, is determined to avoid the mistakes of 12 months ago when he zeroes in on the Geelong waterfront finish line on February 2.
“Last year I had the form and speed to win, but tactically it wasn’t perfect,” Ewan said.
“I think I was a little bit unlucky in the sprint; I was boxed in for a little bit too long and by the time I got out, I just ran out of room.
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“So I think if I can get a good run at the line this year, and if I am in the same form as I was last year, I think it’s a race that I can definitely win.”
Ewan was boxed in by former teammate Daryl Impey in last year’s scramble to the line, leaving him with too much work to do to overhaul well-positioned Italian star Elia Viviani.
The Italian star and Ewan are again expected to fight for the win, perhaps along with Irishman Sam Bennett, should the sprinters survive the hilly finishing circuits in the Geelong suburbs.
“They are obviously super good sprinters as well. It’s always hard to beat them when we come down to the finish,” Ewan said of his rivals.
“On a course like this you really have to manage your effort really well, because if you use too much energy out on the course, it’s going to affect your sprint in the end.
“It usually is a hard day with the hills and the circuit, so it will be about managing the effort through the race to be able to do the best sprint as possible.”
Ewan, 25, will arrive in Geelong after opening his season at Adelaide’s Tour Down Under, where he is a seven-time stage winner.
After the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – and its newly-created curtain-raiser, Race Torquay – Ewan will head home to Monaco to prepare for a 2020 campaign he hopes will surpass the dizzying heights of last year.
“I’m going to do pretty similar races as and the goal is usually just to win as many races as possible. That’s what I’ll try to do,” he said.