Caleb Ewan has signed for Ineos Grenadiers from Jayco AlUla, bringing an end to the mystery of the Australian sprinter's whereabouts.
The 30-year-old, a five-time Tour de France stage winner, was thought to have a contract for 2025 with Jayco, but was then left of the squad's website. There were rumours that a deal to sign for XDS Astana had fallen through, but Ewan has now turned up at Ineos Grenadiers on a one-year deal.
The British WorldTour team were without a top level sprinter, and will look to return to winning ways in bunch finishes with Ewan. Ineos also had the space on their roster, having just 27 riders after the departure of Tom Pidcock and the move of Theodor Storm to Lotto Kern-Haus PSD Bank, Ineos' development squad. Ewan returned to Jayco AlUla after five years away with Lotto at the end of 2023, but has now left after just one year at the Australian team.
Ewan won three races in 2024, the last being a stage of the Vuelta a Burgos in August. He has struggled for his best form and with injury in the last couple of years, but has won stages at the Tour, the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a España and other WorldTour races previously.
"This is a really exciting new challenge for me and a fantastic opportunity to get back to my best with the incredible support of Ineos Grenadiers," he said in a press release.
"In 2025, my goal is to return to winning big races. 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," he continued. "It will be exciting to combine their ideas with my ambitions and together create an exciting race calendar.
"While the Ineos Grenadiers are often seen as a GC-focused team, I see huge potential in the wider group they have to support a sprinter. Over the past few years, I would often reference Ineos in sprint stages because their riders consistently positioned themselves perfectly in the decisive moments. That’s exactly the kind of expertise I’m excited to work with.
"Joining a new team always comes with adjustments, but I already know many of the guys, and everything I’ve heard about how the team operates gives me confidence that the integration will be smooth. I can’t wait to get started and see what we can achieve together."
"Caleb’s palmarès, talent and ability to win big races speaks for itself. In our discussions with him we clearly understand where he’s currently at and what his ambitions are," Dr Scott Drawer, Ineos Grenadiers' performance director, said. "We know that we have work to do together to achieve these, but both relish the opportunity.
"We have made significant changes to our performance team for 2025 and that expertise will be key in enabling not only Caleb but all our riders, to be in the best possible position to challenge at every race.
"Caleb will go straight into a team camp and thanks to our world-class staff we expect his integration to be quick and seamless. We’re all very excited to welcome him and look forward to seeing what we can achieve together this season."
Last week, veteran Ineos rider Geraint Thomas said he would welcome Ewan at the team. "I know him well. He's a good mate, and if he did come here, that would be great," Thomas said, Cyclingnews reported. "Because obviously we lack a sprinter, and 40% of races end in a sprint, don't they? So it would be handy to have. Hopefully it happens, but I've just heard rumours, so we'll see."
