Caleb Ewan has said the personnel within the World Championships organising group missed the chance to come up with a course that was better suited to him, thus increasing his chances of taking gold.
However, he says it is still possible for him to win on the course that has been chosen, though it would be harder and less straightforward than he had hoped.
While acknowledging the course could not be picked according to the preferences of one rider, he still believed more pragmatic decisions could have been taken to design the course - which is moderately hilly - with him in mind.
“I did hear that the UCI wanted a sprint. Wollongong (organising group) didn’t want a sprint, because it would suit an Australian, so I’m a bit disappointed in that,” he said.
Advertisement
Australia has only won the men's elite road race once, with Cadel Evans in Mendrisio, Switzerland, in 2009. Ewan is one of the best sprinters in the world and his performance in Milan-Sanremo last year - when he climbed at the front up the Poggio - was proof he can be in contention at the end of the longest one day races rather than being limited to bunch sprints.
Related News
Late last year, before the course for the Wollongong Worlds was unveiled, Ewan suggested he had been told about it and believed it would really suit him. However, in an interview with AAP he has now stated the course is not the same one he was expecting.
“If I was speaking to them and they were listening to me, then we wouldn’t be having the course that we have,” Ewan said. “But obviously they can’t really take a rider’s input. It would be very biased
“If we are racing in Australia and we have an Australian who can win on a certain course, then it would be a smart idea to make the course suit the Australian. (But) I don’t think it’s really the Australian way."
He insisted he could still go and win the world title, saying: "I can definitely do it – but it’s not going to be as straightforward as if it was a bit a bit easier," he said.
“I’m up for the challenge and if there’s a sprinter who can do it, I think it’s me. I have (more) motivation than anyone else, so I will be ready. And hopefully win.”
