He is among Australia’s greatest sprinters – winner of five Tour de France stages and half a dozen other grand tour stage wins. But at the moment, Caleb Ewan is nowhere to be found.

Last week, Ewan’s profile was featured on the team page of his World Tour outfit, Australia-registered Team Jayco AlUla. By this week, the diminutive sprint star has disappeared from the website. Of the team’s 30 confirmed roster spots, there are 29 riders listed – with one conspicuously empty slot on the webpage where Ewan’s image once appeared.

The 30-year-old did not participate in Jayco AlUla’s training camp in December. He did not race the recent Australian national championships in Perth, and has been left out of the Jayco AlUla squad for the forthcoming Tour Down Under.

Ewan has previously enjoyed prodigious success at the Australian race, which historically kicked off the World Tour season; he has won nine stages at the Tour Down Under over the years, and the sprint classification in 2017. But for the first time since 2015, Ewan will not compete in the South Australian race.

Ewan began his professional career with Jayco AlUla (then Orica-GreenEDGE), enjoying considerable sprint glory with the Australian team before switching to Lotto–Soudal in 2019. He found more stage wins early during his time at the Belgian outfit, before a messy falling out saw Ewan depart by mutual consent in 2023.

The Australian returned to Jayco for the 2024 season, but was forced to compete with Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen for starts and was not selected for the Tour de France. None of his four wins last season – the national criterium crown, stages at the Tour of Oman and Vuelta a Burgos and the one-day Vuelta a Castilla y Leon – came at World Tour level.

According to cycling news outlet Escape Collective, XDS-Astana had approached Jayco AlUla last year about buying out Ewan’s contract for 2025, but the deal fell through. Escape Collective has reported that there is a possibility of legal proceedings between Ewan and his current team.

Jayco AlUla declined to comment when contacted by Guardian Australia. Ewan’s agent, Jason Bakker, was also contacted for comment. Bakker has denied reports that Ewan might be retiring. “Definitely not,” he told one journalist. Ewan has not posted on social media since December 2024.

With most World Tour teams already at capacity heading into the new season, Ewan’s options for a move away are limited. One report, by journalist Daniel Benson, suggested that Ineos Grenadiers have shown interest in signing Ewan; the British squad have one roster spot outstanding.

The Tour Down Under, minus Ewan, begins on Friday.