Ewan to target Tour stage wins as Lotto-Dstny team announced

Aussie sprinter Caleb Ewan will be hunting his first stage win at the Tour de France since 2020 as Lotto-Dstny announced their eight-man squad for the French stage race.

WEVELGEM, BELGIUM - MARCH 26 : Ewan Caleb (AUS) of Lotto Dstny during the UCI World Tour 85th Flanders Classics Gent - Wevelgem - In Flanders Fields cycling race with start in Ieper and finish in Wevelgem on March 26, 2023 in Wevelgem, Belgium, 26/03/2023 (Motordriver Kenny Verfaillie - Photo by Vincent Kalut / Photo News © VKA).

Watch all the best cycling events in the world on SBS On Demand, with the Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes and much more.

Ewan will be supported by some strong leadout riders in Jacopo Guarnieri and Jasper de Buyst as Belgian outfit Lotto-Dstny unveiled a stage-hunting team for the 110th edition of the Tour de France.

Ewan, who missed out on a Grand Tour stage victory last year for the first time since 2018, has got off to an inconsistent start to the 2023 season, but has since seen a return to form after taking out the Van Merksteijn Fences Classic in Belgium last month.

The 28-year-old recently described his previous few months on the bike as the "worst start" of his career, but the 'pocket rocket' remains his team's best chance of securing a victory at the three-week stage race, according to team sports manager Kurt van de Wouwer.

“With these eight riders, we send a strong selection to the Tour”, van de Wouwer said.

“Caleb Ewan has already won five stages in the Tour de France and wants to add one or more in the coming edition.

"The past two years, he has had his share of bad luck at the Tour and also the past months haven’t been going perfectly but he still remains one of the fastest riders of the bunch."

While Ewan will spearhead the Lotto-Dstny team, Guarnieri and de Buyst will provide some much-needed support for the Aussie, having both come off some strong performances in recent months.

Both riders supported Ewan at the Tour de Hongrie, in which the sprinter was close to securing a victory on Stage 1, while de Buyst finished sixth overall at the recently-concluded Baloise Belgium Tour.

"He [Ewan] is our biggest chance to take a stage win. That is why we have surrounded him really well with Jasper de Buyst, who has shown his excellent shape the past weeks and Jacopo Guarnieri as (an) important element in the sprint train.

"Florian [Vermeersch] and Frederik [Frison's] task is to launch that train in a good position, [but] they will also get the chance to go on the attack in the other stages as well.”

The squad will be rounded out by offensive riders Victor Campenaerts, and Le Tour debutantes Pascal Eenkhoorn and Maxim Van Gils.