Ewan set to start Tour after missing race with illness

Caleb Ewan goes into the Tour Down Under with a question mark over his prospects due to illness.

Caleb Ewan’s team concedes there’s a “question mark” over his Tour Down Under prospects after illness disrupted the Australian sprint ace’s preparations.

Jayco AlUla general manager Brent Copeland said they expect the Australian cycling star to be on the start line at Tanunda in the Barossa Valley for Tuesday’s opening stage.

Ewan was a shock withdrawal from Saturday’s twilight Adelaide CBD criterium, where he would have been the strong race favourite.

He also missed a media presentation on Monday hosted by Jayco AlUla, Australia’s only WorldTour team.

The Tanunda stage would also normally be a stage where Ewan features prominently.

“It’s a bit of a question mark, because it hasn’t been the perfect week leading up to it,” Copeland told AAP.

“But he’s the kind of character who doesn’t get affected by that mentally, which is the most important thing.

“His condition was really good up until nationals, we saw that … (but) not an ideal way to start.”

Ewan is back at Jayco AlUla, his first professional team, after five years at Belgian outfit Lotto Dstny that ended in frustration and very public rancour.

He has not been the same rider since crashing out of the 2021 Tour de France with a badly broken collarbone.

“He wants to prove a point and he wants to show what he’s worth,” Copeland said.

Ewan started the year by winning the criterium earlier this month at the Australian road championships.

But his first training ride in Adelaide was Friday, when the temperature hit 40 degrees, and he was unwell afterwards.

The team later confirmed he tested negative to COVID-19.

“We thought it’s best to not risk pushing on the crit, then having him really sick and not being able to start (the Tour),” Copeland said.