McEwen suffering with knee problem at the Giro

Robbie McEwen came off the Katusha team bus to speak to Cyclingnews after the stage to Novi Ligure with an ice bag wrapped around his left knee and clear signs of pain on his face.

The sprinters had failed to catch the three-rider breakaway before the finish and McEwen had finished thirteen on the stage, but it was the pain in his knee, caused by a tendon bursitis, that he was worried about.

"It's swollen up after the team time trial. Sitting on the time trial bike, going that hard at that speed puts the knee under enormous pressure. It felt a little bit tight at the start and it blew up during the stage," he told Cyclingnews, clearly worried about the problem.

"It's quite swollen and we're going to look at it when we get to the hotel. I've got ice on it and it's under compression to get the swelling down because the tendon is quite sensitive and there's fluid in there."

McEwen admitted it is a problem that has affected him several times this season, as he has made his successful comeback from his terrible crash in 2009.

He fractured the tip of his left tibia after crashing into a road sign during the Tour of Belgium. He has recovered well but his knee still causes him some problems.

"It's something I've had to deal with several times this season. When it does get sore it's always the same thing. It's bursitis around the knee tendon and the fluid aggravates everything," he said.

McEwen hopes that he can carry on in the Giro but did not sound optimistic.

"I hope so. We'll see if we can get it to go down and ease the pain. At the moment it’s really, really uncomfortable," he said.