Ewan can take Ochre Jersey today but Cadel Evans says it’s later in the race his mettle will be tested

CALEB Ewan can today take the TDU leader’s ochre jersey by winning a sprint into Lyndoch, but Tour de France winner Cadel Evans says the young gun’s biggest test awaits him at the end of the week.

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CALEB Ewan can today take the Tour Down Under leader’s ochre jersey by winning a sprint into Lyndoch, but Tour de France winner Cadel Evans says the young gun’s biggest test awaits him at the end of the week.

The 21-year-old Orica-GreenEDGE sprinter was untouchable on Sunday night when he won the People’s Choice Classic and he can take that momentum into Stage 1 of the TDU, which starts in Prospect at 11am.

Ewan will be hard to deny if the stage ends in a sprint but Evans believes the true test will be how he handles finishes at Victor Harbor on Friday and in the city on Sunday after a week of WorldTour racing.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how he goes in the later part of the race,” Evans said.

“Being so young he hasn’t got the base to come up fresh in the sprint, so it will be interesting to see — OK, Saturday’s stage isn’t for him — but Friday and Sunday will be a good indication of what he can do this year.

“He still has a lot of areas where he can improve in his efficiency, and his team, Orica, they’re going to be here for Simon (Gerrans) and Caleb, so will be a bit compromised in that regard.

“One thing with him winning on Sunday might be a bit of a disadvantage, because a lot of the European sprinters will now be looking to him and the Orica team.

“The race here is quite particular, it’s a long way from Flanders or Roubaix or a road sprint at the Tour de France, but the fact that he’s doing it now is good.”

Evans, who has watched Ewan’s progress closely in recent years as they both belong to the same management group, believes the NSW fast man has the physical and mental tools to become one of the best in the world.

“The thing with Caleb, obviously physically he has a lot of capabilities, but he has a great mentality and a great approach,” Evans told News Corp.

“To become a really good bike rider over a 10 or 15 year period, that’s what you don’t see in the results, and he has what you need away from the racing.

“He has what’s needed to go all the way to fullfuilling his potential — that’s all part of the interesting adventure — he’s a guy for the classics and to fight for the green jersey in five or 10 years’ time.

“He has the capability to offer us a lot of entertainment for the future.”

Evans returns to the Tour Down Under in Adelaide this week one year after he finished third in the final WorldTour race of his career and two years after his breathtaking ride to win the stage over Corkscrew Rd in 2014.

Now a brand ambassador for BMC, he believes his former teammate Rohan Dennis can go back-to-back in the week-long stage race.

“I think Rohan is going pretty well, judging by the results of the time trial, I think he can do it (win) again,” Evans said.

“I’m glad to see they’ve got (Marcus) Burghardt here, some really solid experienced guys here and a two-pronged (attack) with Rohan and Richie (Porte).

“BMC had first and third last year and this year they’ve got first and second so in theory, without putting too much pressure on them, they should be really well positioned.”

The peloton faces 130.8km from Prospect to Lyndoch in scorching 39C temperatures today. Riders complete three laps of a circuit around the town before a pancake flat run to the finish in the main street.

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Originally published as Ewan can take Ochre Jersey today but Cadel Evans says it’s later in the race his mettle will be tested