Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal) did not win the 2022 Giro d'Italia, finishing the race before stage 12, which has three Category 3 climbs, and missing out on a sprint finish in Cuneo on Friday.

Ewan has never finished the Giro d'Italia, and on Monday's rest day he announced his intention to leave the race between stages 11 and 13 (depending on his mood) before the high mountains begin to make their presence felt again this weekend.

"Caleb Yuan will not be at the start of stage 12 of the Giro. As originally planned, he will leave the Giro during the second week of racing. With many mountain stages ahead, the decision has been made for Yuan to return home with the team. After a short rest period, the sprinter will build up his strength for his next big goal of the season, the Tour de France."

In last year's Giro d'Italia, Ewan retired before the eighth stage, at which point he had two wins under his belt. This year, however, the race turned out to be what the Australian previously described as "the Giro from hell. It started with a crash just before the finish line on stage 1, just when he seemed to be in a great position, and ended with a photo finish on stage 6, where the Lotto-Soudal rider missed the win by a few millimeters.

Since Ewan first competed in the Giro d'Italia in 2016, the 27-year-old has never missed at least one stage win in the Italian Grand Tour. In last year's Tour de France, he broke his collarbone on stage 3.

In his last chance at this year's Giro, he sprinted to the front on stage 11, but finished fifth, just short of the podium. However, he struggled on Tuesday's 10th stage to Jessi, where he fell alone and finished last, struggling to keep to the time limit.

This was a stage where Yuan, usually one of the better climbers among the sprinters, was considered one of the favorites to win. However, his failure to match the pace of the peloton with 80km to go on Tuesday did not bode well for stage 12, a medium mountainous stage from Parma to Genoa that included three Category 3 climbs. In other words, it was hardly a surprise that he decided not to attempt a sprint so that he could have a final sprint win on the 13th stage to Cuneo.