Caleb Ewan powers to stage victory in Giro d'Italia

Caleb Ewan has won the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia after a powerful sprint delivered him the victory in Cattolica. In the much anticipated bunch sprint, the 26-year-old Australian proved to be the fastest and beat Italians Nizzolo and Viviani. Exactly four years after his first, Caleb Ewan sprinted to his fourth ever Giro stage win.

“After the disappointment of missing out on the first sprint opportunity, this victory gives me great satisfaction”, Caleb Ewan said. “There was quite some pressure on myself and the team to get a good result today, so this win kind of feels like a relief. I wanted it so badly and to finish off the superb teamwork really is a great feeling. In my mission to win a stage in every Grand Tour this year, I can now tick off a stage at the Giro. But of course, I’m always hungry for more. This gives me and the whole team a confidence boost for the stages to come.”

With a pan-flat stage between Modena and Cattolica, a second opportunity for the sprinters was written in the stars. After a day of straight roads, a rather tricky and technical final followed at the end of stage five of the Giro d’Italia. Caleb Ewan was kept at the front of the peloton by his Lotto Soudal teammates and stayed out of trouble in a finale which saw some riders hit the deck.

Caleb Ewan: “The final twenty kilometres were quite technical with a lot of roundabouts and narrow roads. But my teammates really did a great job and always kept me in the best position possible. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to start the sprint so fresh. We knew we had to be in front and both Jasper and Roger guided me perfectly through the many corners. That way, I could save a lot of energy towards the final sprint, which ensured that I could launch my sprint, still feeling quite fresh. Such technical finals really suit me.”

In the sprint, Caleb Ewan seemed to get boxed in for a moment, but eventually the Australian made his way out and launched a powerful acceleration to take glory and his fourth stage win at the Giro.

“As he showed his fast legs during the first sprint stage, I went for Tim Merlier’s wheel in the run-up to the sprint. For a moment, I was afraid to get boxed in, but luckily I could find a small gap and was able to launch my sprint. I felt there was still a lot of power in the legs and I think that I showed that I was the fastest today”, concludes Caleb Ewan.

Image: Photo News.