Caleb Ewan wins Down Under Classic

Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) came away with the win at the 2019 Down Under Classic ahead of Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) and Alexander Edmondson (Mitchelton-Scott). Ewan came through a difficult final lap after a crash took down several rivals, including Italian national champion Elia Viviani.

Ewan made it through the final set of corners and was perfectly brought to the line by his teammate Roger Kluge. There was a late charge from last year's winner Peter Sagan but the three-time world champion had no answer when Ewan opened up his sprint with the Australian winning by over a bike length. Edmondson was the best of the rest and rounded out the podium.

"I knew that it was going to be a hard one to win because of the caliber of sprinter here. I went into it confident and I knew that my form was good but you never know how it's going to go. It was a very aggressive race and that made it a little bit harder," Ewan said at the finish.

"My team did a fantastic job. On a course like this with four corners on each lap, it's hard to stay together but they stayed composed and I stayed with Roger and he delivered me perfectly." 

The win marked Ewan's first major victory of the season - he won twice at the recent Bay Crits - and his first against a world class field since his move from Mitchelton-Scott to Lotto-Soudal during the winter. The Australian, who has won the Down Under Classic twice in his career, was well placed in the closing laps and was one of the first riders to come through the final set of corners, where the crash occurred. Daniel Oss held a brief gap as he attacked in the final few hundred meters but he was unable to hold his advantage as Kluge - who moved with Ewan from Mitchelton-Scott to Lotto-Soudal - brought his leader back into contention.

The early laps saw a number of attacks from within the field with Mat Hayman - riding his final race before retiring at the end of the Tour Down Under - particularly active in closing down moves. Lotto-Soudal's Thomas de Gendt was also present at the front, while Dimenson Data's Ben O'Connor was part of the first attack of the one-hour race. With the sprinters' teams unwilling to see a break gain more than thirty seconds the pace was frantic throughout.

FDJ, the new CCC Team and EF Education First all tried to create breaks but with Lotto-Soudal, Bahrain Merida, Bora and the rest of the sprinters' teams setting the pace the race quickly became a predicable battle between the fast men.

The crash in the final kilometre certainly played a huge role in the finish. By the time the remnants of the main field came through the last set of corners only a handful of riders remained in contention. However, you make your own luck and Ewan and Lotto Soudal showed cohesion and skill in making sure that their sprinter was near the front and wasn't involved in the fight for places further back in the field. 

"I'm happy with my form and I couldn't ask for a better start. This is the first time I've raced with a full team like this. To start with the win is a good feeling," Ewan added.

"This was probably the most important one today. To get the confidence of the team up. They did a perfect job and this was the first time we've done the leadout. It's such a good feeling."

Next up for Ewan is the Tour Down Under, with the first stage on Tuesday. 

Race finish highlights

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