Could Caleb Ewan be retiring from racing at the age of just 30? Is he switching teams in the middle of his Jayco-AlUla contract?
Questions about the Australian sprinter's future have been raised this week as his profile appears to have vanished from his current team's 2025 roster lineup page. Ewan isn't in the team lineup for his home race, the upcoming Tour Down Under, January 21-16, either, and his future at Jayco - perhaps even in the peloton – now looks unclear.
Ewan joined Jayco-AlUla, the team where he spent the first four years of his career, after breaking his Lotto contract at the end of 2023 following a falling-out with management at the Belgian team. He may already be on the move with little indication online – on Jayco's website and social media – of him currently being on the team's roster.
On Wednesday, Daniel Benson reported that Ewan wasn't at Jayco's training camp last month. He's also not part of the team's selection for the Tour Down Under, where he's won nine stages in the past.
Instead, Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid lead the seven-man squad. In Ewan's place, Campbell Stewart will race, with the 26-year-old described by directeur sportif as the team's "option for the bunch sprints".
When contacted by Cyclingnews on Thursday, Jayco-AlUla team manager Brent Copeland declined to comment on Ewan's situation. Cyclingnews also reached out to Ewan's agent for comment.
According to a report by Escape Collective, issues arose between Ewan and his team last season, while a proposed deal to Astana for 2025 collapsed over the winter. Escape reports that several sources suggested legal proceedings between the two parties might be on the cards.
Ewan, who has won 11 Grand Tour stages including five at the Tour de France during his career, hailed his switch to Jayco as a chance for a "fresh start" after the deterioration of his relationship with Lotto.
"The thing is to win at the highest level like that you really need a full team rallying behind you and I guess if I can take any positives from the Tour again, I wasn't so far off the pace," Ewan told Cyclingnews last January.
"I almost won a stage so I know my level is still good enough to win the biggest races in the world but yeah I just need a fresh start, a team that's excited to have me."
He won four races at Jayco last year – the Australian Criterium Championships, stages at the Tour of Oman and Vuelta a Burgos, and the one-day Vuelta a Castilla y Leon – but didn't take any wins at WorldTour level. He also raced the Giro d'Italia as Jayco opted to send Dylan Groenewegen to the Tour de France.
Ewan said last year that retirement was never an option at the end of 2023, stating to Cyclingnews that he would only call time on his career once he felt that he couldn't win races anymore.
"I was never going to be retired in 2024," Ewan said. "I'm not the type of rider that can kind of keep riding, not winning anything. My job is to win and once I stop winning and can't win anymore, then my place in cycling is pretty much over."
Ewan showed that he can still win races in 2024, even if he didn't add to his Grand Tour tally, so it's likely he feels he has more to offer the sport. Should Ewan be moving on to another team, there are several possible landing spots around the WorldTour with 11 of the 18 squads still retaining an open roster spot, or several.
XDS-Astana have a full 30-rider squad for 2025 with the final addition of Chinese rider Haoyu Su, so a revival of his previously mooted transfer to the Kazakhstani team would be off the cards.
Six other teams – Bahrain Victorious, Cofidis, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Lidl-Trek, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and Soudal-QuickStep – also lack spaces for the upcoming season. According to Daniel Benson's report, Ineos Grenadiers, who currently have one free no-neo-pro roster spot, have shown interest in signing Ewan.
