ProTeam Caleb Ewan returns to racing at Circuit Franco-Belge

The Lotto Soudal starts the next part of his season after a collarbone surgery.
Race 09 August 2022

On Wednesday 10 August, Lotto Soudal will take part in the 81st edition of the Circuit Franco-Belge, the tenth and penultimate race of the Exterioo Cycling Cup. The Belgian WorldTeam will be at the start in Tournai with leader of the Exterioo series, Arnaud De Lie. Just over two weeks after the Tour de France, Caleb Ewan will return to competition during this 1.Pro race in Wallonia. Also Victor Campenaerts – winner of last weekend’s Tour of Leuven – will be present. Brent Van Moer, Jasper De Buyst, Cedric Beullens and Sébastien Grignard complete the Lotto Soudal line-up.

For Caleb Ewan, the Circuit Franco-Belge means the start of the next part of his season, in which the sprinter has still set his eyes on quite some targets. The Australian is happy to be back racing after a tough Tour de France. Moreover, Caleb Ewan was forced to have a week off after the Tour due to a collarbone surgery. The small plate that was placed on the collarbone following last year’s crash at the Tour, has been successfully removed. The recovery from the surgery took a little longer than expected, but Ewan is now ready to get back into action.

“I am really happy to be able to race again after the Tour de France. I feel pretty good after my collarbone surgery from two weeks ago. Despite the recovery period taking a little longer than I initially hoped for, it was definitely a good decision to plan this surgery after the Tour. My shoulder and arm were bothering me for quite some months and hopefully this issue has been resolved now”, says Caleb Ewan. “The Commonwealth Games road race came just a little too early but now I am looking forward to be at the start of the Circuit Franco-Belge for the first time in my career.”

“Nevertheless, I have to be realistic: due to the surgery and the mandatory week of rest I obviously lost a bit of shape. I still experience some light pain but it doesn’t bother me too much anymore, which is a good sign. So immediately battling for victory will be difficult but it is a nice race to get the legs going again and prepare for the next part of the season. The first goal is the Bemer Cyclassics Hamburg on 21 August, followed by the five-day Deutschland Tour. After that, I will most likely race a couple of one-day events to hopefully focus on the World Championships in Australia afterwards”, concludes Caleb Ewan.

Image: Photo News.

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