Toulouse (AFP)

Family, career, ambitions, character ... Four things to know about Caleb Ewan, winner Wednesday of the 11th stage of the Tour de France:

His grandparents came from Korea

His features, partly Asian, reveal a mixture already far away. It was her maternal grandparents who migrated from Korea to Australia some forty years ago. At the beginning of his career, he had to repeat often: "I am Australian and I do not speak Korean."

In Toulouse, Ewan first thanked his family, his parents ("I could never say enough to them for what they did for me") and his wife: "Leave her in the hospital with our little girl who was born last month was the hardest thing for me and I am happy to thank my new family with this victory. "

He started cycling very early

"I never won in small categories, it took me a lot to work," Ewan had fun. But as early as 16, the "pocket rocket" (his nickname in the English-language press) competed with his elders in the Australian criteriums.

At the age of 20, he made his WorldTour debut at the end of 2014. The following year, he won the sprint stage of the Vuelta, ahead of John Degenkolb and Peter Sagan. In the Giro, he has already won three times, twice in the last edition in May.

He thinks of the Champs-Elysées

His second place at the Worlds, juniors in 2012 and hopes in 2014, hardened him. "In a sense, I'm used to not winning, I can keep my nerves, my concentration, and work hard until it pays," he said after the ... 36th success of his career.

At 25, the series is underway. "I'm not finished," he smiled at Toulouse, "there's the Champs-Elysees, which is the biggest finish for a sprinter, I'm confident enough to overcome the difficulty of the mountain stages." have a good team to escort me and I hope to reach Paris with enough strength ".

He succeeded Greipel

Ewan spent five years in Australia's only WorldTour team (Orica became Mitchelton) before joining the Belgian Lotto team at the end of 2018 to take over from Germany's André Greipel (11 stages of the Tour). The separation was painful: Ewan, whose transfer had become a secret of Polichinelle, was ousted from the selection for the Tour.

The Australian, with a strong character, spoke in hedging words about the subject: "It took me a little too long to come on the Tour, I was ready three or four years ago." Before referring to his love for the Tour: "If it was up to me, I would have run even as a neo-pro."

© 2019 AFP