By John Trevorrow in Rennes
But the two Aussies showed that they are still major threats. Rogers finished fourth in the stage 1 min 24 sec behind teammate Ukrainian Serhiy Gonchar but more importantly improved his position in the general classification to 1 min 8 sec. With Gonchar unlikely to survive the mountain stages in yellow, it means that Rogers is perfectly placed, only eight seconds behind American Floyd Landis. "I started well and I can't be too disappointed. My teammate's in the lead and I went as hard as I could I just didn't have the strength. Live to fight another day," Rogers said.
Evans finished eleventh in the time trial and is now eighth overall at 1 min 52 sec. He is also well placed for his mountain assault in a few days. "It all depends on how I climb I suppose. I will have a look at how it all pans out after today but the mountains are whole different scenario," Evans said.
Stuart O'Grady managed to finish a stage without any dramas and feeling much more confident about his chances of making it to Paris. "I felt a lot better today. The chiropractor has been great and I'm starting to feel about 65 instead of 80. With another couple of flat days and a rest day before the mountains, I may just recover enough for the challenge."