Monday April 29, 2024 at 2:08 PM
Jayco AlUla is the next team to announce its selection for the Giro d’Italia (4-26 May). The team hopes for success in the flat sprint stages with Caleb Ewan, while Eddie Dunbar, Luke Plapp, Filippo Zana and Alessandro De Marchi can enjoy the more uneven stages.
In the flat stages that will culminate in a sprint, we will have to look out for Caleb Ewan. The lightning-fast Australian could use a mental boost, as he has not had his best spring. The now 29-year-old driver achieved a welcome victory in the Tour of Oman, but had to retire ill in Tirreno-Adriatico a month later. Ewan has not played since then.
In recent weeks he managed to prepare himself for perhaps his most important race of 2024, the Giro d’Italia. Ewan has fond memories of the first big tour of the season. In the editions of 2017, 2019 (2x) and 2021 (2x) he won the necessary stages. This year, in his hunt for new day victories, he will receive support from Michael Hepburn, Max Walscheid and last man Luka Mezgec.
“After an absence of two seasons, I am very much looking forward to returning to the Giro. I have already won five stages in total and that automatically creates good memories,” Ewan said through his employer. “I have prepared myself for the Giro with an altitude training camp, although I will first participate in Eschborn-Frankfurt. I can count on a strong train, so that’s nice.”
Jayco AlUla is not only counting on Ewan’s fast legs. The formation also hopes to be able to make a difference in the hill and mountain stages. With Eddie Dunbar, Luke Plapp, Filippo Zana and Alessandro De Marchi, the team has several cards to play with. Zana won a stage in his home round last year and De Marchi has already worn the pink jersey in the past. For Plapp it is his first introduction to the Giro.
For Luke Plapp it will be his first participation in the Giro – photo: Cor Vos
And Dunbar? Last year he finished seventh in the final ranking on behalf of Jayco AlUla. The Irish climber hopes to at least equal his 2023 performance. “So it cannot be improved. I have had a reasonably good preparation. Maybe not as good as last year, but I’m looking forward to competing in the Giro again,” he said in a press release. “You have to be there immediately, as the first stages are immediately important for the rankings.”
2024-04-29 12:08:00
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