Caleb Ewan finished off some superb team work from his Lotto Soudal teammates to win stage 6 of the Tour of Turkey to Eceabat, close to the Gallipoli Peninsula and a hilltop monument where so many Anzac soldiers lost their lives during World War I.
The final four kilometres of the 201.5km stage climbed into the hills overlooking the Aegean Sea but Ewan made sure he was up front and protected by his teammates.
Lotto Soudal took over in the final 1.5km, guiding Caleb Ewan through the twisting road and protecting him in the headwind. Ewan looked back to check his rivals and held off launching his sprint until the final 100 metres. That was too late for hids rivals to try to pass him.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) came from behind to finish second, with Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) finishing third.
Pat Bevin (Israel-Premier Tech) was fourth and so failed to gain more time bonuses for the overall battle. Eduardo Sepulveda (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli) still leads Bevin by just 11 seconds. Australia’s Jay Vine (Alpecin-Fenix) is third overall at 25 seconds.
The stage saw several breakaways, including one with Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) but the fight for the intermediate sprints amongst the local riders and and the work of the sprinters' teams meant the race came back together with 10km to go. Even a diversion by some riders into road works did not disrupt the race to the foot of the final climb up to the finish.
Ewan did not survive the climb to the line when the Tour of Turkey finished above Eceabat in 2019. Now he is older, wiser and stronger.
“I’m definitely a stronger rider than I was three years ago. It was an opportunity I really wanted to take,” he said.
“It was a hard finale and I’ve become better at climbing. My team did an amazing job too. I’m proud of them and I’m happy to finish off their work.
“I didn’t know who was on my wheel in the sprint, I knew that Pat Bevin was going to be close. But it was a block headwind and uphill, so I really didn’t want to go too early and die. I knew the guys could come from behind. I timed it well and put my power down all the way to the line.”
Ewan took the top step on the podium, overlooking a hilltop war memorial that recalled some of the 46,000 lives lost from the western nations and those of 80,000 Ottomans lost in the World War I landings on the Gallipoli peninsula.
“This is a really important part of Australian history. It’s an honour to race around this area. I’m happy I could finish it off and an Australian winning here is special,” he said respectfully.
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