Turkey: Ewan hopes stage win ‘gets ball rolling’ for Giro d’Italia

Any lingering aches and pains remaining from his crash two days ago seemingly had little to no effect on Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), who timed his sprint perfectly toward the line to win the Stage 4 uphill sprint ahead of Juan José Lobato (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizané) and current race leader Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe).

The win came on the end of the race’s longest stage (194.3km) of the 55th Presidential Tour of Turkey (UCI 2.UWT) in Bursa on Friday. Ewan had already registered a third-place podium result on the opening stage — the first of two straight won by Bennett — and despite not entering the six-day UCI WorldTour stage race in tip-top form, the seven-time Tour Down Under stage winner felt confident his wheels were turning in the right direction.

“Already after the first stages, although not having the best legs, I knew that a stage win would be possible, so I got more confidence as the race progressed and also my legs were feeling better as well,” explained Ewan, who claimed his sprint power was not at its best in the final.

“I took my two victories so far this year both in uphill sprints, but I am confident that I can still win during the flat finishes as well,” continued last year’s Milan-San Remo runner-up. “I have been missing my lead-out man Jasper De Buyst (BEL). During the hectic finishes, I was maybe lacking that last guy to get me in the perfect position. The uphill finishes are therefore a little easier to position myself.

The 24-year-old Australian sprinting sensation admitted to not winning as much as he expected in the first quarter of year. Ewan has recorded five of his 31 pro wins during the past two seasons, including one already this year atop the UAE Tour’s Hatta Dam in February after signing with Lotto following six seasons with Mitchelton-Scott.

“It is a relief to take the victory here with the team constantly supporting me, and now I get to reward them with a win,” shared Ewan, who plans to do the Grand Tour double beginning with his third start in Italy next month before debuting at the Tour de France in July. “There’s a little less pressure now going into the final days.

“I hope this victory gets the ball rolling for the Giro d’Italia, which will be my next race in a few weeks,” the Giro and Vuelta a España stage winner concluded. “I hope, once the Giro arrives, to be in the best possible shape.”

For full stage and race results, click here.