Caleb Ewan has signed a one-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers, ending a period of speculation about where the Australian sprinter might end up.
The 30-year-old brings some much-needed firepower to a team that only achieved 14 victories last season, and has lost the likes of Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayter, and Jhonatan Narváez heading into this year.
Ewan arrives from a one-year stint at Jayco AlUla and after his profile mysteriously vanished from the team’s website at the start of 2025. Jayco-AlUla manager Brent Copeland wasn’t forthcoming with answers when contacted by Escape Collective at the time, but sources told us the issue arose last year when Astana Qazaqstan approached Jayco AlUla about buying out Ewan’s contract for 2025 and slotting the sprinter in to replace the retiring Mark Cavendish. This deal, however, ultimately collapsed.
“In 2025, my goal is to return to winning big races,” Ewan said in an Ineos Grenadiers press release announcing his signing. “It’s been a few years since I’ve won some of those major events but I firmly believe I have it in me. I’m still only 30, and with the right guidance and the expertise that Ineos brings, I believe I can rediscover my best form here.
“We haven’t finalised my race programme yet, but I’m looking forward to having those discussions with the team. It will be exciting to combine their ideas with my ambitions and together create an exciting race calendar.”
Asked earlier in the week at the Tour Down Under pre-race press conference about the possibility of Ewan joining he team, Geraint Thomas explained how Ewan will bolster the British squad.
“I know him well,” Thomas said. “He’s a good mate, and if he did come here, that would be great, because obviously we lack a sprinter, and 40-odd percent of races end in the sprint, don’t they? So it would be handy to have.”
The signing of Ewan, who likely didn’t have much choice of destination in January with many rosters already full, is a positive for Ineos following a year of disruption and distraction, with a high percentage of backroom staff turnover and the loss of multiple star riders including Pidcock and Hayter.
Moreover, CEO John Allert told BBC Sport last week his squad was looking for some fresh cash injection in order to keep pace with the superteams UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike who have overtaken them in financial heft. This is after billionaire owner Jim Ratcliffe made it clear he will not provide the team with an increase in funds.
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