Caleb Yuan's return to Jayco Alura means that he will run the elite men's road race at the Federation University Australia Road National Championships with the strongest team in the peloton. Ewan has already won one title at the 2024 Australian Championships. It was the criterium that marked the race debut of Jayco Aroura on Friday.

"Road racing is definitely the race I'm looking at and dreaming of winning," Ewan told Cycling News in Ballarat on the eve of his fourth criterium title. It would be great to ride in the national champion's colors in my first season back with the Australian team."

The small town of Buninyon, near Ballarat, is not exactly a course suited to sprinters, with 16 laps of the 185.6-km event over 11.6 km course with an elevation gain of 205 m and a maximum gradient of 8.4%. The major challenge is the 16 ascents of the Buninyong mountain climb, which is usually a key point of difference in the race.

"I know that to win there, the race has to go in my favor, but I know that it is definitely a winnable race," Ewan said.

Yuan has come close to winning the Buninyong elite road race before, finishing second behind Heinrich Haussler in 2015, when he was also representing Australia in the race. He had just graduated from the U23 category, having won the U23 road race title in 2014.

The 29-year-old raced in road races for the remainder of his time with the Australian team, with fourth place being his best result.

Ewan returned last year and, supported by then-teammates Jarrad Drizners and Harry Sweeney, held on until the end of the race. This Sunday, however, Ewan is gaining a lot of experience with Jayco Aroura. New to the Australian team will be 2022 and 2023 winner Luke Plapp. Also in the team are Chris Harper, Michael Hepburn, Lucas Hamilton, Kelland O'Brien, Rudy Porter, and Blake Quick.

"Being able to race will help me a lot because some of the guys will be involved in breakaways and covering. I can sit at the back of the pack, save as much energy as possible and wait for the last few laps." [Last year, there were a couple of breakaways and things like that where I had to move. I want to make the laps as easy as possible and not have to chase. I think it's much easier with a strong team with us in that regard."

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