The mystery surrounding Caleb Ewan was finally solved on Thursday when Ineos Grenadiers confirmed the Australian was making the leap mid-contract from Jayco-AlUla to the British team.
Speaking to Cyclingnews on Friday before stage 4 of the Tour Down Under in Glenelg after the news finally broke, Geraint Thomas reiterated that he is happy to have Ewan in the team.
"It's great, obviously I know him well," Thomas said. "He's a good guy - we need a sprinter and he's a top sprinter. It's great to have him."
Thomas suggested that Ewan could be on Ineos' team for the Tour de France since the squad are looking to add stage wins to their GC ambitions with Carlos Rodríguez.
"We've been saying the last few years we'd be going for stages as well as trying to have Carlos there in the GC," Thomas said. "There are seven or eight stages that end in a sprint, so it's pretty obvious if you're going for stages and you don't have a sprinter, you're already limited. I think it's a good thing, we can work well together."
Ewan had returned to Jayco-AlUla last season after being made unwelcome at his previous team Lotto Dstny at the end of the 2023 season, but he did not race the season's marquee event, the Tour de France, as the team focussed on fellow sprinter Dylan Groenewegen.
There have been rumours of a conflict between Jayco-AlUla and Ewan and an attempted mid-contract switch to Astana fell apart in the off-season. This year, Ewan is no longer listed on the team's website and was not at the Jayco-AlUla training camp, but the rider, his agent and his possibly former team are staying firmly mute on the topic.
There was also speculation that Ewan would be signing with Ineos Grenadiers before the Tour Down Under when the team had only 27 riders signed for the season, well under the maximum of 30.
"He would be handy to have. Hopefully it happens, but I've just heard rumours, so we'll see," Thomas said at the pre-race press conference.
Last year, Ineos launched their season with Jhonatan Narvaez winning the Tour Down Under criterium and placing second overall behind Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) in the WorldTour race's overall classification. Narvaez has since moved to UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Getting the season started with a success, Thomas said, "It's important, but it's not the be-all and end-all. There are 10 months of the season. We started well last year with Jhonny - I think it is important to start well, of course, and we're all motivated. But it's just how we go for the next few months, really. Magnus [Sheffield], Kwiato [Michał Kwiatkowski], all the boys are motivated and strong, and I'll do my bit to help them."
In placing the emphasis on his teammates, Thomas seemed to play down his ambitions for the overall classification in a Tour Down Under that has more climbing than ever. That's not to say he doesn't still have ambitions despite being in the final season of his career.
"I'd love to win a race again, anything, to be honest. I'd love to go to the Tour [de France] again, possibly trying to go for a stage. The GC, not so much anymore - and just be a good, solid teammate for the boys as well ... try and take some opportunities and just enjoy it."
Thomas confirmed in December that he would retire at the end of the 2025 season, and if he races the Tour de France, it will be his last appearance. "I'm a lot closer to the end than the start, so [I want to] make the most of it."
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