When Cyclingnews spoke with Aussie über-sprinter Robbie McEwen before the start of today's fifth stage , it was a solemn, serious individual in Chambord.

The 33 year-old was still unhappy with his relegation that happened after the finish of Stage 3 , where the jury of commissaires ruled he had hindered fellow countryman Stuart O'Grady in the run-in to the line. "I've said it a few times, I've watched the pictures enough times in slow motion, and there's other people who definitely know what they're talking about agree with me," said McEwen in his defence.

"One of them is Sean Kelly, he's not a nobody, he won the green jersey five times; Eddy Merckx won the Tour five times and he agrees with me as well. It's a pretty harsh decision, and it's put a pretty big hole in the green jersey competition - it's not going to be half as interesting as it has been the last couple of years."

"The other day in Tours, I didn't speak to any journalists. I just want to make clear I didn't try and place blame anywhere; I didn't make the first move and it didn't affect the classification of the stage. I was more disappointed not at the actions of any other rider, but more the decision of the jury - they should've just let sleeping dogs lie."

But it wasn't just the outcome last Monday in Tours that bothered him. Irrespective of what happened there, it was also that he had already been beaten by Tom Boonen two out of two times, and from what people had seen so far, it