Caleb Ewan’s honest retirement shows how far professional cycling has come in welfare terms

Caleb Ewan in full flight was a wonderful thing. I remember his victory in Sisteron on stage three of the Tour de France in 2020, which feels like a different time now. The Australian, then riding for Lotto Soudal, jived and jinked round seemingly every other sprinter on the way to take his fourth Tour stage, which would prove to be his penultimate. While others had whole teams marshalling them to the finish, Ewan did it all on his own, dodging his rivals, almost slamming into the barriers, finding space at high speed before the line came. This wasn’t pure power smashing everyone else away, like Marcel Kittel or Jasper Philipsen, but finesse, fine margins, and expert bike handling.

The idea that this victory came despite, not because of, his team was one which dogged Ewan through his career - the Australian was often the first to point this out. He was the heir to André Greipel at Lotto, but clearly felt unsettled at times in the Belgian team, despite his Giro d'Italia and Tour success while there. He left Lotto under a cloud, then had a disappointing return to Jayco AlUla, which lasted just a season, before he ended up at Ineos Grenadiers.

Adam Becket

News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com - should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.

There was a hope that he had recovered his spark at Ineos, especially as he immediately found winning form. There was even a faint idea that he might line up at the Tour de France again. It turned out this was a nostalgic dream, and also not the reality that Ewan was living. He might have been winning again, and found a better team to be at, but the feeling was no longer there. Ewan is no longer a professional bike rider.

In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Ewan wrote: “Even when I crossed the line first, that feeling - the one you chase for years - faded quicker than it used to. My experiences of the past two seasons, in particular the second half of 2024, has taken a significant toll on my relationship with the sport.”

The full story remains unknown. Previously, the Australian has said of the end of his time at Jayco: “There was a while where I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, to be honest. That was just because I was in a pretty shitty situation with my team. So that was all going on and I honestly did not know what my future was going to hold, it was a very stressful time for me.”

What we do know is that Ewan no longer enjoys racing his bike, not even winning, and that is an understandable reason for hanging up his wheels. He is not the first rider to be honest about stepping away from cycling, but the continuing trend of people opening up about their struggles and reasons for retirement is very welcome. Tom Dumoulin, Marcel Kittel and Leo Hayter are just three to take a step back from cycling for mental health reasons in recent years, and have been allowed to take that move. Support is better than it was in previous decades, and many teams and riders take a holistic approach to their wellbeing. It is not ‘results at all costs’ anymore, and those environments where this is the vibe are shrinking.

People can have difficult times, whether they are living some people’s dream lives - being a professional cyclist, or writing about cycling for a living - or not. Judging someone from their latest results on Procyclingstats or from a performance in a race on television does not give the full picture, as Ewan’s situation reminds us. Last month he was winning, this month he is retiring. That’s allowed; even those who seem ok on the surface are often paddling furiously beneath to appear that way. Situations change, mindsets are altered, priorities differ.

I will remember Ewan as that furious ball of sprinting energy which won 65 races, and came so close to glory at Milan-San Remo twice, but also someone who was honest about their situation, and called time when they felt was right. Better to go out when you want to, rather than keeping going when things aren’t right. Cheers Caleb, enjoy your retirement.

In the UK, Mind offer a suite of resources if you are struggling with your mental health. Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org.

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