Was Caleb Ewan robbed in ‘dead heat’? | 00:42
Australian cycling superstar Caleb Ewan will never have a closer finish to a stage – or a tighter defeat – than the one he suffered overnight at the first stage of the UAE Tour.
The Lotto Dstny rider was pipped to the line by the millimetres by Soudal-Quickstep’s Belgian rider Tim Merlier in a thrilling sprint finish.
The two riders finished shoulder to shoulder prompting a 10-minute delay as the race organisers pored over the photo finish in a bid to split them.
They opted against calling it a dead heat and gave Merlier, 30, the win by the slimmest of margins.
Ewan had raised his hand in celebration after crossing the line, and took to social media to jokingly write: “when in doubt claim it … Doesn’t get much closer than this”.
The official finish-line photograph used to decide the winner was later revealed by organisers – and it shows just how ridiculously close things were. This official finish-line photo was enough to rob Aussie Caleb Ewan (bottom) of a dead heat finish. “I was not sure,” Merlier said afterwards.“I know I did a good jump in the end, and I knew when I started my sprint that it was a good sprint.“But Caleb was coming from the wheel and you know he’s a dangerous guy if he is in the wheel. In the end it was really close.”“But what can I say about it …? I wouldn’t do anything different, really,” said Ewan in […]
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