FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 12 - Roanne to Belleville-En-Beaujolais - France - July 13, 2023 Lotto–Dstny's Caleb Ewan ahead of satge 12 REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/ File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) -Australian road cyclist Caleb Ewan announced his retirement with immediate effect on Tuesday, months after signing a one-year contract with British team Ineos Grenadiers.
Ewan, 30, won five Tour de France stages and five at the Giro d'Italia during his 11-year career and was regarded as one of the best sprinters of his generation.
"After much thought, I've decided to retire from professional cycling," he said in a statement on Instagram. "This sport has been a major part of my life, shaping my path and offering experiences I'll carry with me forever."
Ewan said the last couple of years had tested his relationship with the sport.
"For as long as I can remember, my world has revolved around racing," he said. "The intense routine, the sacrifice, the search for constant improvement, the hunger to win it's been my rhythm, my identity.
"But what once felt like everything to me no longer does."
Ewan won twice since joining Ineos, including a stage at the Tour of the Basque country.
"The last few years haven't been easy but in 2025 I found something again -- not just legs, but belief - thanks to the Ineos Grenadiers. They gave me space, trust, and the environment to rediscover what I am capable of.
"But the truth is that even when I crossed the line first, that feeling -- the one you chase for years -- faded quicker than it used to," Ewan said.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
