2003-07-26
	McEwen has perfect day to take green

McEwen has perfect day to take green jersey



By Stephen Farrand

ST MAIXENT-L'ECOLE, France, July 25 (Reuters) - Australia's Robbie McEwen took the green jersey from Baden Cooke after beating his compatriot to the line in the 18th stage of the Tour de France on Friday.

McEwen started the stage to Saint Maixent-L'Ecole six points behind Cooke in the points standings but won the first intermediate sprint to draw level and then edged ahead by winning the bunch sprint for 17th place.


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"It was a perfect day for me. It was exactly how I wanted the day to go," said McEwen, who won the green jersey as highest points scorer last year.

"I took the first intermediate sprint and then I was able to win the bunch sprint and get some more points."

McEwen has 178 points, two more than Cooke. Six-times points competition winner Erik Zabel of Germany is third with 165 points but has little chance of catching the two Australians.

Cooke, who had taken over the green jersey on stage seven, said he was blocked in the first intermediate sprint after overall contenders Jan Ullrich and Lance Armstrong decided to battle it out.

"I felt good today and it's amazing that things went so badly," Cooke said.