Caleb Yuan was arguably the fastest sprinter in the final 100 meters of the first stage of the Santos Tour Down Under. However, professional sprinting is as much about positioning as it is about speed, and the Australian could only finish second behind Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) in the battle for best wheel on the fast run-in to Tanunda.

Ewan will run for the Australian National Team instead of Lotto Dostony in the Tour Down Under. His young teammates are doing everything they can to help him, but he has no World Tour sprint experience, and on top of that, the in-form Graeme Frisley was involved in a crash, and Lotto Destney's teammate Jared Drizners suffered mechanical problems in the second half!

Australian Nationals.

The Australian National Team leader wisely took the steering of Michael Matthews after the fast descent from Menglers Hill and sped to the finish, but a crosswind pushed the peloton to the right.

Ewan fell back in the last kilometer and started his sprint from the back, but still found a breakthrough and went all the way up.

Yuan said in frustration. Yuan said regretfully.

"I wasn't in a position to win and I'm surprised I got that close. I could only see the player in front of me. Then I saw Bauhaus and the line was very close. It's frustrating, but you can't ask too much of the team.

Ewan is an experienced and skilled sprinter, but he needs protection and lead-outs to increase his chances of winning.

"One person can really scrap it," he admitted.

"I was in a good position on the downhill crosswind section and got stuck. It's tough when there's no one to sit in the wind for you and you're fighting for the wheel.

The first stage of the 2023 Tour Down Under road race was a relaxed affair in the peloton, with AG2R-Citroen's Nance Peters riding alone for much of the stage.

However, after climbing Mengler's Hill, everyone was fresh and aggressive in the last 10 km.

The riders jostled for position on the descent across the Barossa vineyards, where crosswinds further complicated the race. Some riders also forced Jayco Arulla onto the gravel road to protect Matthews.

"There were times when I thought Michael Matthews was going to fall when the group switched from left to right," Ewan said.

The finale was pretty scary. The last couple of kilometers there were so many cars parked on the side of the road. We were in a ditch on the right side and the wind was blowing from the left. It was a little dangerous to be honest, but nobody crashed in that section."

Ewan won the warm-up Schwalbe Criterium on Saturday, but is still looking for an early season WorldTour victory. His next opportunity may be the second stage to Victor Harbor. Crosswinds could be a factor, and there is a climb in the second half, but Ewan is in good shape and hopes to finish with a clean ride.

"The second to last climb is tough and some teams will be riding hard. We'll see if we can get through it and bring it into a sprint race.