Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) was intractable in the sprint in the first stage of the Tour of Saudi Arabia disputed with start and finish in Winter Park and the first leader’s jersey was donned.
Ewan (Sydney, 27 years old) opened his season with authority, making good his nickname “Pocket Rocket”. The “aussi” cyclist set a time of 4h.41.52 at the finish line, at an average of 42.1 km/hour, well launched by his team, which allowed him to win against the Estonian Martin Laas (Bora Hansgrohe) and the Colombian Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates).
After a day in which there was no lack of spoiled getaway starring the Norwegian Martin Urianstad (Uno-X Pro Cycling), the Malaysian Mohd Shahrul Mat Amin (Terengganu Polygon) and the Greek Polychronis Tzortzakis (Kuwait), adventure that did not come to fruition, since they were hunted 25 km from the finish line.
Caleb Ewan’s Lotto Soudal, Dylan Groenewegen’s Team BikeExchange-Jayco and Davide Ballerini’s Quick Step were the protagonists of a tense ending in the fight for victory between sprinters.
In a sector of 7 km of dirt tracks there were some falls. One of those affected was the Italian Andrea Bagioli (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), one of the candidates for the final victory.
At the end there was a sprint and Ewan, winner of 5 stages in the Tour and Giro d’Italia and 1 in the Vuelta, confirmed his status as favorite, a success that was facilitated by the work of the Lotto when it came to breaking down the breakaway and putting him in the best position on the last straight, where he made his superiority clear with a lightning takeoff 100 meters from the line.
Ewan will defend the green jersey that accredits the leader with 4 and 6 seconds of sale over Laas and Gaviria in the second stage that will take place this Wednesday between Taibah University and Abu Rakah, of 163.9 km, an undulating route with a high finish that can mark the general. Until I hit a short but explosive 1.6km climb at 7.7 percent.