After announcing the classics season with the exclusive TV news about Flanders and other top-tier races, Discovery/Eurosport organized a virtual meeting with Robbie McEwen, one of the first great success hunters of Australian cycling. Just a small reminder: 116 career victories between the second half of the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, including 12 Giro d'Italia stages and just as many at the Tour de France, securing the green jersey three times. Up north, he added Scheldeprijs, Samyn, Hamburg, Dwars door Vlaanderen and five Paris-Brussels to his palmares.

Below are McEwen's words on multiple topics regarding the 2025 season

THE TWO ITALIAN FLAG-BEARERS
"I have high expectations for them. I hope Milan hasn’t reached his peak too early, as he’s been showcasing incredible results and victories, and I wish for him to maintain this form in March and April. He’s shown he can beat Merlier and Philipsen, and after seeing him dominate at the Giro d’Italia, I’m really curious to see him make the 'next step' at the Tour de France, but even before that, to see him endure the climbs of Milan-Sanremo and have a chance in the Classicissima. As for Ganna, I think he’s on the verge of finally showing all his potential on the road, completing the extraordinary work he’s done over the years: his mix of time-trialing strength, sprinting speed and experience makes him a prototype of a rider suited for the cobbled classics, and he’s setting his sights on Paris-Roubaix. Also, Ineos has come out transformed from last season, as if this winter the caterpillar had emerged from its cocoon as a butterfly. They all seem much brighter and Ganna can only benefit from this!"

WHO WILL DOMINATE THE SPRINTS
"Not many surprises here, I’d say the 'magic trio' is Milan-Merlier-Philipsen. We just spoke about Jonathan, and I love Tim's consistency and his ability to sneak up on opponents out of nowhere. As for Jasper, just wait until he regains his form... Outside of their dominance, I’d mention Groenewegen, who can beat anyone if he hits the right day, and I’m curious about Caleb Ewan now that he’s joined Ineos. It will be interesting, especially in light of what I said about the British team earlier, and we’ll touch on that more later: in the first few months, Caleb will need to find the perfect lead-out and build a virtuous cycle of trust with the team and himself. It will be tough at first, but I think they’ll manage."

SPRINTING THEN AND NOW
"The 'rule' of the sprint remains unchanged: the fastest, the bravest, and the one best supported by his train wins. Today, there are perhaps some sprinters who stand out for particular qualities, like Merlier with his tactical acumen that we mentioned earlier, or Milan, who starts early and produces a pedaling effort so powerful that it almost seems untidy. The Friulian reminds me a bit of Boonen when he used to participate in bunch sprints. As for Philipsen, I’d like to see him more focused and clean in his sprinting technique: with the new UCI criteria, he’ll have to do it for sure!"

THE OVERALL SPEED OF CYCLING
"Definitely, the average speed has increased: not because the top speeds that champions can reach have increased (Petacchi and Cipollini didn’t have anything to envy to today’s sprinters) but because, thanks to training and equipment, many more riders can reach certain speeds, and the phenomenon riders of this era, like Van der Poel, Van Aert, Pogacar and Evenepoel, have introduced an aggressive and spectacular way of racing that raises the bar of speed and excites everyone. I don’t think the UCI should impose restrictions or technical limitations because that would mean artificially limiting the spectacle. However, I also believe that the relentless search for aerodynamics by bike and component manufacturers shouldn’t go any further. Ultimately I believe that, at the moment, in terms of bike weight, gear ratios, rolling resistance, rules and regulations, we are at a point of equilibrium that should not shift in either direction. What should be done instead (and this concerns organizers along with the UCI) is to focus more on the courses: avoid downhill finishes or those with tailwinds and, particularly for faster finishes, place them on wide roads with good barriers."

TOMORROW’S OMLOOP HET NIEUWSBLAD
"For the race that kicks off the classic season, I predict Van Aert: after racing in Algarve and then spending a week recovering and preparing, I think he'll be competitive enough for the event. I still expect Wout to duel with Pidcock and for opponents to try and surprise them, taking advantage of their tight marking, like when Tratnik won last year. The beauty of the Omloop is exactly this: it’s the first cobbled classic, everyone comes in with high expectations, and many riders can win it. In any case, if I had to pick someone, it would be WVA."

INEOS’ RESURGENCE
"I have the feeling they’ve changed their approach: before, the 'grenadiers' had someone taking most of their decisions from the team car, but now they’re taking responsibility and racing more freely. That’s why I used the caterpillar-and-cocoon metaphor: they ended up being trapped in their own system, pressured by excessive performance and planning, while now veterans like Thomas and Kwiatkowski (who won in great style in Jaén) have led a change in attitude. Finally, this team is enjoying racing! And with Ewan, they finally have a top sprinter: considering that Viviani wasn’t a top-tier sprinter despite his good wins, it’s been a long time since they’ve had someone like this since Cavendish at Sky."

THE PORTUGUESE OF UAE
"After years on the sidelines of elite cycling, Portugal, especially within the Emirati team (but not only, see Leitao) is finding strong riders in every specialty. The flag-bearer was Rui Costa, and now there’s Almeida, who has the potential to reach the podium at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Joao has an impressive consistency that allows him to always be reliable in a squad full of top riders; he’s just missing that extra step to turn his consistency into something exceptional over three weeks. At the Tour, of course, he’ll be at Pogacar’s service, so it will be harder to fight for a top position in the GC but he can be an excellent plan B if anything happens to the Slovenian; at the Vuelta, depending on Tadej’s presence, it’s a target within reach. And then there’s Morgado, who has huge potential, and I can’t wait to see what he can become."

LIDL TREK
"For the Grand Tours there’s still something missing, given Geoghegan Hart’s physical troubles, but for the classics and one-day victories, I consider them a top team just like the others. With Pedersen and Milan, plus Stuyven, and continuously reinforcing and cementing their roster with a true spirit, they form a squad ready to harvest successes."

MADS PEDERSEN
"Do you know why he’s so loved and respected? He has a hunger for victory and isn’t afraid to put himself to the test, even when he knows the best riders are ahead of him: you can be sure that, even with the best Pogacar or the best Van der Poel in the race, Pedersen will fight inch by inch and try to give the favorite a real challenge until the very end. And maybe he’ll succeed, like he did in the last Gent-Wevelgem. Always proactive, always with his head held high, always fair; he can win a semi-classic in a sprint or a tight sprint after a long-range attack, a duel after reducing the peloton or even a solo victory. He started 2025 by winning the Tour of Provence and I’m sure he’ll make us enjoy the classics."

MULTIDISCIPLINARY RIDERS
"The future of cycling also lies in riders who compete in multiple disciplines. Of course, there will always be super-strong riders who focus solely on road racing, but generally multi-discipline riders like Pidcock, Van Aert, Pogacar, Van der Poel (who has even said he aims for the MTB World Championships) and in the past Sagan have an extra gear. Personally, I’ve also practiced BMX and track racing alongside road racing: it particularly develops a richer technical skill set, and in an era where speeds are higher and thus the nervousness and dangers in the bunch are greater, these bike-handling skills make a significant difference."

THE DOMINANCE OF THE "USUAL SUSPECTS"
"I don’t see any talent in the short-to-medium term that could really challenge the supremacy of Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel. Among the emerging talents I see encouraging signs from Juan Ayuso, but he shows an attitude that’s not always correct: sometimes it seems like he wants to be the star of a team that already has several superstars. Also, I was very impressed by the young Dane Albert Philipsen (from Lidl Trek) who went directly from Juniors to World Tour, like Remco, and has the qualities to confirm as a professional what he showed in the youth categories. He’ll need to be managed well."

THE RANKING AND POINTS SYSTEM
"There’s an imbalance in the points system, where a rider can earn more points in a low-level one-day race than someone who’s fought hard in a medium-high level stage race. Especially in years like this, which complete the three-year cycle and determine promotions and relegations between World Tour and Professional teams, it ends up that, in the hunt for points, certain races get crowded and on the other hand you find only 3-4 World Teams at the start of O Gran Camiño, which I’m commentating on this week. I understand the complaints from race organizers; the UCI points system is a very complex work in progress that’s going to take years to perfect, and in the meantime some races will unfortunately not have the field they deserve. Another issue is that we see the big teams putting obstacles in the way of Professional and Continental teams at lower-tier races to grab easy points. I’m not opposed to promotions and relegations like in football and other sports; in fact, we can witness exciting battles like the one this year between Cofidis and Astana, but the system could be adjusted to avoid too many imbalances: maybe ban WT teams from participating in races that are clearly too low-level for them. Let’s remember that in cycling the presence of sponsors is key, and drop in category can lead a sponsor to withdraw..."