| 07/02/2005 | Bradley McGee might be engaged in his own battle to boost his overall performance on the Tour de France but that has not stopped him tipping Michael Rogers to become the first Australian winner of the yellow jersey.
McGee, who won the prologue at the 2003 Tour for his Francaise des Jeux team, has spent the last few campaigns in July helping teammate Baden Cooke in the bunch sprints.
But after a long, hard 10 months year of climbing in the mountains in a bid to better prepare himself for this year's race, the 29-year-old New South Wales rider will leave those duties to his other teammates as he chases his dream of trying to finish in the top ten.
"I'll be serving more as a guide to Baden in the way in to the sprints, but that's where I'll leave it," McGee told AFP ahead of Saturday's race-opening time trial from Fromentine to here.
"I need to save my own energy for the mountains where I want to be able to race at the front with the race's best climbers.
"I've been working hard since last October and I couldn't be happier with my progress," added McGee, who is delighted that Australia is represented by a record 10 riders this year.
"It's great, it just shows the depth of Australian cycling."
Australian cyclists have been represented on the world's biggest race since the early days, although it was really Phil Anderson's presence in Europe and on the Tour in the 1980s that was the stepping stone for many of today's Aussies.
In the past 10 years, the likes of Robbie McEwen, Stuart O'Grady and McGee have carried the torch, although up until fairly recently there have been no real contenders for the race's main prize, the yellow jersey.
But that has all changed. Rogers, the reigning world time trial champion who will soon leave Quick Step for the T-Mobile team of Jan Ullrich, has been groomed for success on the race's general classification for a few years.
Former http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/sportst/sportst1120310789.aspx
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