Devon cyclist makes his mark on the European stage

Mid-Devon Cycling Club’s talented young graduate Ewan Warren has pulled off the biggest victory of his career in Spain (writes Dave Thomas).

Warren, 21, who has already overcome more adversity than most athletes encounter in a lifetime, showed all his customary determination to win the third and final stage of the Vuelta a Guadalentin in Murcia.

The Exeter-based all-rounder bounced back from a frustrating opening stage, when he was in the leading group before a rear wheel malfunction left him waiting for a replacement while the rest of the field raced by.

But on a tough last stage, featuring five categorised climbs over 99 miles, Warren (Natural Greatness Rali-Ale) survived repeated attacks before launching his own bid up the steep finale to the Fortaleza del Sol near the town of Lorca.

He held on to beat the two men, Ortega Sanz and Adrian Benito, who finished first and second overall, well clear of a fragmented peloton.

It was in 2022 that Warren first signalled that he had recovered from two heart operations, which ruined his junior career.

At 18, he finished sixth overall and first Junior in the MDCC’s Primavera RR before wins in Ireland and the Tour of Witheridge Moor.

Then, just as he had established himself after his first two seasons in Spain, the frame of a ‘pick-up’ bike he was riding in Exeter broke, causing him to crash.

His left leg was badly broken, forcing him out of action for eight months, including the second half of the 2023 season.

He came back again last year with some strong performances, but the Guadalentin was his first important victory.

It should be a major boost to Warren’s confidence, but it may also make him marked man in future races, including this weekend’s two-day Memorial Manuel Sanroma based around Cuidad Real, south of Madrid.