McEwen not ruling out green jersey

Robbie McEwen knows that it’s going to be a tough task to win a third green jersey this year. He’s currently 22 points behind maillot vert leader Thor Hushovd and eight adrift of Stuart O’Grady. Still, never say never. When asked by Belgian TV1 if he was thinking about the green jersey immediately after taking his third stage win on Friday, he had this to say:

"After a win like the other day I don't really think about anything; but it's true, there's 6 stages left still - 5 without the time trial. So anything can happen really, but I'm not counting on it!"

His team-mate Mario Aerts is motivated to ride well for the rest of the Tour. He says there will be a change of tactic as regards the points jersey. "I'll be trying to show myself in the coming stages; as far as that will be possible. Tomorrow we have some more climbing to do. The Green jersey is still a goal. We will be going for every intermediate sprint from now on."

McEwen prepared for his important final week push with a relaxing rest day. "I rested today," he said yesterday. "I trained for an hour and stopped in Pau for an hour to have a coffee and eat something. Then I returned to the hotel and ate some more. That's what today was all about; eating and resting."