Source : ABC NEWS
Australian cycling star Caleb Ewan has retired from the sport, effective immediately, only a few months after joining a new professional team.
Ewan delivered his bombshell decision on social media, saying events in the past two years — especially around his messy exit from top Australian team Jayco AlUla — had “taken a significant toll on my relationship with the sport”.
The 30-year-old sprint ace started this year without a team and it looked as though his career could end prematurely.
But he joined high-profile British outfit INEOS Grenadiers and made a successful return in late March, winning his first comeback race.
He then claimed a UCI World Tour-level win last month and appeared to be back on track.
Writing on X, Ewan described his career as “a wild ride”.
“The last few years haven’t been easy, but in 2025 I found something again — not just legs, but belief — thanks to the INEOS Grenadiers,” Ewan wrote.
“They gave me space, trust and the environment to rediscover what I am capable of. I won again.
“But the truth is that even when I crossed the line first, that feeling — the one you chase for years — faded quicker than it used to.
“My experiences of the last seasons, in particular the second half of 2024, has taken a significant toll on my relationship with the sport. I’m glad I didn’t let that period define the end of my career.”
Ewan’s woes can be traced back to 2021, when he was at the peak of his powers and one of road cycling’s premier sprinters.
He publicly declared his bold ambition that season to win stages in each of cycling’s Grand Tours, and he was on track, with two in the Giro d’Italia.
But Ewan crashed at the end of stage four in the Tour de France and suffered a broken collarbone that needed surgery.
While he returned to racing a few weeks later, he was never the same rider.
He left Belgian team Lotto Dstny in strained circumstances at the end of 2023 and returned to Jayco AlUla, where he started his professional career.
But that did not go well and in early January it suddenly became apparent that Ewan’s profile had disappeared from the team website.
By the end of the month, he had signed with INEOS Grenadiers.
Ewan has had a rich cycling career, with five stage wins at the Tour de France and another five at the Giro d’Italia.
He was also runner-up twice at Milano-Sanremo, one of cycling’s five one-day monuments and a major career goal that Ewan never quite cracked.
Ewan won nine stages at Adelaide’s Tour Down Under.
“Over the course of my 11-year career, I’ve achieved more than I ever imagined possible,” Ewan wrote.
“The journey has exceeded every expectation I once had and I’m deeply grateful.
“But what once felt like everything to me no longer does.”
AAP
