Friends and foes alike flocked to pay tribute to Caleb Ewan after the Australian suddenly announced on Tuesday that his time racing bikes as a professional was over, bringing to a close eleven years of fighting for sprint victories with a turn of speed that gave him success in all three Grand Tours and the sprinters' one-day Class
The timing of Ewan's announcement was a surprise, coming after he worked hard to revive his career following a tumultuous period at Lotto-Soudal and then a stint with Jayco-AlUla that ended prematurely. He announced he would join Ineos Grenadiers in January but raced just seven days before bravely announcing retirement.
That final stint with Ineos helped the 30-year-old to end a career with over 60 victories and on a winning note.
He visited the top step of the podium in both of his races with the British team, opening his time in Ineos Grenadiers colours with victory on stage 1 of Settimana Coppi e Bartali and then closing it at Itzulia Basque Country. It was his first WorldTour win in three years but ended up being his final day of racing as a professional.
Geraint Thomas had been a strong advocate of Ewan's move to Ineos and he was also quick to chime in with his best wishes as the rider from New South Wales recognised that even with a return to winning ways “what once felt like everything to me no longer does” in a moving retirement announcement.
“Mate, it was great to finally call you a teammate, even if it wasn’t for long,” said Thomas in an Instagram post.
”I remember hearing about this little pocket rocket coming out of Oz. They weren’t wrong! Some journey from then. Enjoy retirement mate, save a spot for me,” the rider who is retiring at the end of the season said in the post punctuated with a beer emoji
Lotto Cycling, where Ewan raced from 2019 to 2023, also bid the Australian rider farewell. Things may not have been easy at the end of his time at the Belgian squad it was also the place where he delivered many of his biggest victories, capturing the bulk of his 11 Grand Tour stage victories in Lotto's red and white colours along with the Scheldeprijs win and three UAE Tour stages.
A long list of top names from among the peloton also commented on Ewan's social media post announcing the retirement, right from Tadej Pogačar – "Congrats on all of your achievements" – to Jasper Philipsen – "It was an honour to fight some battles against you" – and Biniam Girmay – "Respect".
The tributes from a variety of notable cycling figures from Australia just kept rolling too as the nation woke up to news of the retirement, delivered in his home nation as many had already switched off their screens for the day.
The comments included one from Stuart O'Grady who stepped out of the sprinting limelight just before Ewan stepped into it and is now race director at the Tour Down Under where Ewan has won nine stages.
"Fantastic career Caleb. You’re one of the fastest and best sprinters Australia has ever seen. Be proud of your journey and good luck for the next chapter."
The cycling governing bodies also got in on the act, with AusCycling and the UCI delivering their congratulations on a memorable career.
"Sprint King signs off," said a post from the UCI.
"After a standout career built on speed and spectacular finishes, Caleb Ewan hangs up the wheels. Thanks for memories and cheers to the ride ahead!"
