You only have to take a quick look into Robbie McEwen’s career to know that the 50-year-old cyclist has some pretty amazing accolades under his belt. He might very well be commentating on this year’s Tour De France, but he has had his fair share of triumphs in the annual race too!
McEwan has been retired from partaking in professional cycling for a number of years, however, his time on the bike isn’t one that cycling fans will forget anytime soon. For starters, he has taken part in the Tour de France 12 times and won a total of 12 stages including the final stage sprint in 1999; which kicked off his career as being one of the most recognisable people to take part in competitive cycling. He’s won the Tour de France 3 times and in 2002 became the first Australian to win the Tour de France points classification. As well as the Tour de France he has taken part in races such as the 2002 UCI Road Cycling World Championships and for Australia at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.
Thanks to a successful career, he was named Male Road Cyclist of the Year in 1999 and 2992 and also Australian Cyclist of the Year in 2002.
Looking Back at His Career
Betway Insider recently caught up with McEwan to talk about all things cycling and of course, couldn’t do that without catching up on his own career. They asked him about the 12 stages he won during the Tour de France and what he considered a standout moment. Cycle fans are probably unsurprised that he talked warmly of the 2007 crash during the London to Canterbury stage; where he got back up and had his work cut out for him to make it back to the front. He was a fair distance behind the Peloton and his rivals but over the 20km to the finish managed to reach them and then open up a gap in order to cross the line first. He said of the adventure “Crashing, getting back up there, fighting my way through the peloton then actually winning, so it was pretty nuts”.
He also talked of the time he won his first green jersey – because not only did that mean he’d won his first one, but he ended the previous 6 in a row winning streak of Erik Zabel – and he felt quite a battle to get there. “More than the excitement on that occasion was pure relief that it was over. It’s such a stressful competition. One little mistake over the three weeks and you can forget it, especially against a guy like Zabel, who was so good at that competition, so consistent. It was just pure relief; I was completely exhausted, not just physically but mentally. It was a real psychological battle throughout the whole thing.”
Lastly, he talked about the honour it felt to win for Australia and what a massive moment it was to be the first ever Australian to win the green jersey.
There is no denying that McEwan has had a massively successful career during his time which makes him the perfect person to be able to comment on this year’s Tour de France – because he’ll be able to put himself in the shoes of the competitors and know exactly how they are feeling.
