Australian cycling star Caleb Ewan has pulled out midway through the Giro d'Italia and, while his withdrawal was planned, he's had a barren race.

Caleb Ewan's "Giro from hell" is over, with the Australian cycling star pulling out midway through the three-week grand tour after a succession of setbacks.

His Lotto Soudal team has confirmed that Ewan will not start stage 12 of the Giro d'Italia.

While Ewan's withdrawal was planned, it has been a barren and frustrating 11 stages for the sprint ace.

He crashed at the end of stage one and his best result was a second behind sprint rival Arnaud Demare on stage six.

The low point came in stage 10, when Ewan was dropped and finished last, at more than 30 minutes.

"The Giro from hell continued for me today," he posted after stage 10.

"Got dropped around 80km to go alone and just made it within the time limit.

"Since my crash on the first stage I feel like my Giro just keeps going downhill. Another sprint chance tomorrow so I'm hoping to turn it around."

But Ewan could only manage fifth in stage 11, won by Alberto Dainese, and that proved his last opportunity for a result at the Giro.

"As initially planned, the Australian will leave the Giro during the second week of racing," his team said in a statement.

"With plenty of mountain stages coming up, together with the team it was decided that Ewan will be heading home.

"Following a short period of rest, the sprinter will build up towards his next big goal of the season, the Tour de France, where he will also be targeting victories in the sprint stages."

The Giro was Ewan's first grand tour since the Tour de France last year, when he crashed out at the end of stage four with a badly-broken collarbone that took longer than expected to heal.

One of the world's top sprinters, Ewan has won five Tour de France stages, another five at the Giro and one at the other grand tour, the Vuelta a Espana.

Ewan has ridden in five Giros and never finished any, instead hunting for wins in early sprint stages before pulling out and preparing for July's Tour de France.