Ewan overcomes increasing pressure to win second career Giro d'Italia stage
Third. Fifteenth. Second. Fourth. With each near miss in this year's Giro d'Italia bunch sprints, Caleb Ewan's disappointment at not being able to net a stage victory had been steadily growing. And so, too, was the pressure to win.
But finally at Pesaro on stage 8 the Lotto Soudal sprinter captured the second Giro d'Italia victory of his career, just four days after a deeply frustrating near-miss when he mistimed his attempt to chase down Movistar's Richard Carapaz on the uphill finish in Orbetello.
It was also Ewan's biggest win to date with his new team, Lotto-Soudal, for which he signed after a year of missing out on Grand Tours completely with Mitchelton-Scott.
Once back on the bigger race stage, though, Ewan has proved again he can take on the world's other top sprinters. And even as he completed his Giro d'Italia winner's press conference, the 24-year-old confirmed he is already eying a debut in the Tour de France this July.
"Last year was pretty average, so another average year would have been bad," Ewan added. "This time, for the first part of the season, this win is the icing on the cake. This one means a lot.
"The pressure was building every time I didn't win a stage here, and it's disappointing when I can't win a stage after all the work the team has been doing for me. So I'm happy I could get this one and it means a lot to be back at a Grand Tour, too."
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