Caleb Ewan might have enjoyed a fruitful start to 2016 in the balmy climes of the Australian summer but he encountered a different beast altogether at his first ever race in Belgium as a professional.
The 21-year-old, who had a breakthrough win at last year's Vuelta a España and carried that form through to this season with a double at the Tour Down Under, finished 15th on what he described as a "tough" day at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. It was bitingly cold in the Flanders region on Sunday, mercilessly compounded by the driving wind, and as it was such a brutal introduction to the European season.
"It's completely different. It was probably more the weather than anything that really played the role. It's freezing cold here, compared to what I'm used to – I was in South Africa a week ago and it was like 40 degrees," said Ewan, delaying his return to the warmth of the Orica-GreenEdge bus to talk to Cyclingnews.
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"I'm pretty happy with how it went for my first race. It felt hard and I felt like I was struggling but by the looks of it everyone else was struggling, so that's a good sign."
The racing was aggressive, with the wind playing a part, and there was fluidity in the way that groups were forming at key junctures. Though a sizeable peloton did regroup to try and chase down solo winner Jasper Stuyven towards the end of the race, it was largely a day when Ewan had to stay constantly alert, responding to the digs and accelerations and making sure he didn't find himself cut adrift.
"It was pretty tough. The team did a great job putting me in a good position in most of the critical parts. I was right up there when all the attacks were going and I felt quite good. I felt I did pretty well, just in the end I'm not used to the really long races just yet."
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