Robbie McEwen has suggested that Caleb Ewan has the ability beat Mark Cavendish in a sprint finish after the Orica-GreenEdge rider’s show of form and success at the Tour Down Under.
The 21-year-old Ewan won the opening criterium and two stages at the Tour Down Under, confirming he is one of the most promising sprinters in the WorldTour peloton. The two riders have similar builds, similar power outputs and both sprint tucked low over the handlebars to maximise their speed. Cavendish has followed in the footstep of McEwen and even bettered the Australian’s results, while Ewan appears to be the next great ‘pocket rocket’ sprinter.
McEwen won 75 races during his long career between 1996 and 2012, including 12 stages at both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. He now works for Australian television, using his own experience to analyse the current generation of sprinters who will clash in the 2016 races.
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“That’s a tough one. Caleb is in really good form but Cav’s got so much experience and a little bit more rider toughness. But if Caleb and Cav were sprinting against each other now, I’d go for Caleb. I’m talking about lining them up against and sprinting to the line, without lead outs and racing first,” McEwen told Cyclingnews.
Ewan and Cavendish will both ride Sunday’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race but the rolling course could mean a sprint finish is unlikely. Like many observers, McEwen is looking forward to when Cavendish and Ewan shoulder to shoulder in a sprint, probably some time in the spring in Europe.
“It’ll be good when they come up against each other in Europe. Caleb was winning races by two or three bike lengths at the Tour Down Under but that isn’t the six lengths like the old Cav and it wasn’t against the very best sprinters in the world,” McEwen pointed out.
“I haven’t seen Cav sprint for a bit, it was probably at the 2015 Tour de France when he won a stage. He hasn’t really done anything impressive since then. I’d have to watch Cav race this year to see how he's moving to understand if he’s still at his best. It’ll also be interesting to see how Caleb goes racing against the other big sprinters. And I don’t mean a one to one fight with Cav, Greipel or Kittel, but when all of them are together. It’ll be fascinating to see but when it gets more difficult for him to win.”
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