Michael Matthews: Caleb Ewan's Jayco-AlUla return 'only makes us stronger'

Michael Matthews believes Jayco AlUla adding Caleb Ewan to their ranks will only help to boost the team’s chances of winning races, after the sprinter signed a two-year deal with the team he left in 2018.

Ewan came through the Australian WorldTour team's development set-up before turning pro in 2015, but relations soured when he was snubbed for the 2018 Tour de France, and he then left to spend five years at Lotto Dstny.

This year, things turned sour once again, with Lotto's drop from the WorldTour, just two minor wins for Ewan, and a public falling-out that has led to a mutual parting of ways a year before the expiry of their contract.

Speaking to GCN at the start of the Giro del Veneto, Matthews, who is himself in his second stint at Jayco-AlUla, argued that Ewan’s return would lift the squad as a whole, by taking an element of pressure off himself and teammate Dylan Groenewegen.

• Read more: Caleb Ewan to leave Lotto Dstny for Jayco AlUla return

“We’ve been talking [over] the last couple of days and he’s really excited, he’s happy with what he achieved in his old team but he’s happy to come back to us and help us with our journey to get more race wins,” Matthews revealed.

The Canberra-born rider was quick to add that Ewan’s addition also offers another layer of diversity to the team’s sprint line-up for 2024.

“We’ve got one really fast guy for the flat and one who can do all-round, it’s nice to have another guy up there who can consistently be fighting for victories," he said.

"Even if I’m there [at the same race], if we ride for me in a harder race and it comes back to a sprint, we’ve got Caleb, one of the fastest guys in the world.”

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Ewan's first Grand Tour victory came at the 2015 Vuelta a España for Orica GreenEDGE

Matthews, however, he didn’t predict much crossover and competition when it came to race calendars in 2024. With the exception of Milan-Sanremo where both could threaten depending on the style of the race, Matthews sees himself as a completely different rider to Ewan.

"He’s going to wait for the sprint and I’m going to go on the climbs with the punchy guys. We’re totally different riders. It only makes our team stronger.”

GCN understands that Caleb Ewan will debut in the blue and white of Jayco AlUla at the Tour Down Under whilst Michael Matthews has confirmed that he’ll skip his home races to prepare for the Spring Classics.

Groenewegen and Ewan to have separate lead-outs and schedules

Jayco-AlUla Directeur sportif Matthew White echoed his rider’s thoughts regarding Ewan’s arrival and dismissed any notion of overcrowding, especially when it comes to Dylan Groenewegen, Jayco’s main sprinter for the past two seasons.

“[He] was really positive, actually," White said in reference to how Groenewegen took the news of Ewan's imminent arrival.

"We’re very, very clear with our athletes. We won’t have Caleb competing against Dylan for spots. Dylan has his programme, Caleb has his. And they won’t be clashing at all."

White was assured in his plans for the two quickmen, with each likely to have designated lead-out trains and race programmes in 2024. The only question mark hanging in the air was how they will tackle the Grand Tours.

“We’ll have one of them at every Grand Tour, it's just who goes where,” he admitted.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

From sprint rivals to teammates, Dylan Groenewegen and Caleb Ewan are now on the same team.

The team director was clearly happy to be bringing Ewan back to his former stomping ground, one that set him on the path to numerous WorldTour successes.

“It’s exciting [that] Caleb Ewan is coming back home. Things haven’t gone well with Lotto Dstny since the transition of management there. The main thing for us is we want to focus on getting Caleb Ewan back doing what we know he can do: winning bike races.

“We have a big history with Caleb in our development team, he turned professional with us and we’re turning back the clock looking to get him back on the top step of the podium,” White added.