A breakaway winner was predicted to be the winner on Stage 2 but the conditions swung in favour of the fast men when the winds picked up to blow away their chances.
“It was a stage that could go either way,” Ewan said. “The GC (general classification) teams didn’t want to do anything because it’s too early in the Giro and they were pretty happy for BORA (hansgrohe) to control things.
“Both days we have had a pretty solid head wind and also the roads here are quite dead so I think it’s a combination of those two things that is making the racing slow.”
Ewan was there at the finish and in the mix but was knocked off his sprint stride when he unclipped from his pedal after bumping into Fernando Gaviria of Quick-Step Floors.
“To be honest I can’t exactly remember what happened,” Ewan said. “When I bumped into Gaviria my foot came out of the pedal and obviously at that point in the race it’s going to be pretty hard to get your foot back in and continue sprinting.
“I’m devastated, to be honest, but if I can take something out of the last couple of days it is my form. It’s hard to tell after two days exactly how everyone is going but I think I can say I am up there with the top guys.”
Redemption for Ewan could come on Stage 3 when another opportunity for the sprinters presents itself on the 148km run from Tortoli to Cagliari.
There, Ewan will again have to contend with new race leader Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) as he hopes to compound his Stage 2 success, Gaviria, Sacha Modolo (UAE Team Emirates) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek–Segafredo).
