Tour Down Under 2016: Little sprinter Caleb Ewan makes Stage 1 look easy, writes Reece Homfray

IT’S little wonder Caleb Ewan gave away the team pursuit on the track to become a road sprinter five years ago, writes Reece Homfray.

Caleb Ewan celebrates his Stage 1 win. Photo: Sarah Reed.

• Best pictures from Stage 1
• Ewan outsprints and outlasts
• Latest Tour Down Under news and colour
• Stage 2 preview and map

IT’S little wonder Caleb Ewan gave away the team pursuit on the track to become a road sprinter five years ago.

Imagine as a team-mate trying to get a windbreak behind him when he’s 160cm tall and gets so low and aerodynamic over his handlebars you’ve got to look twice to make sure someone is actually riding the bike.

So then try staying on his wheel when he takes off after 130km of a stage in the Tour Down Under like he did in Lyndoch yesterday.

The front of a WorldTour peloton fighting for position coming into a finish at 70kmh is not for the faint hearted yet Ewan, just 21 years old, looks like he’s been doing it for a lifetime.

Aerodynamics and courage to fight for position is one thing, explosive power to finish it off is another.

Ewan (centre) getting low as he can.

When Ewan hit out with 200m to go in Stage 1 yesterday it looked like everyone around him was pedalling backwards.

The second-year professional is not just beating guys 10 years older than him and who are in the prime of their sprinting careers, he is thrashing them.

But is it really that much of a surprise?

Hype and expectation surrounded Ewan for two years before he even turned professional and now he is delivering — repeatedly.

A lot of talk leading into this year’s TDU has been about the lack of a marquee sprinter the ilk of Andre Greipel, Marcel Kittel or Mark Cavendish.

Suddenly Ewan is the marquee sprinter, and not by default.

Last year he proved himself by rolling Peter Sagan and John Degenkolb in a sprint at the Vuelta a Espana and in 2016 he has already won six races including a national title and two at WorldTour level.

But the most impressive thing about Ewan this week is not who he is beating, but that he is simply winning in the first place.

Ewan all smiles in the Ochre jersey. Photo: Sarah Reed.

He is constantly being told by the media and cycling fans that he could and should be winning big bike races, but those external voices don’t have to back it up.

Ewan doesn’t talk the talk but he walks the walk and somehow he makes it look easy.

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Originally published as Tour Down Under 2016: Little sprinter Caleb Ewan makes Stage 1 look easy, writes Reece Homfray