Cycling/Tour de France: Robbie McEwen collected his 11th Tour de France stage victory on Friday after riding a road train driven by his team mates.
The Davitamon-Lotto rider started the Tour with Fred Rodriguez at the wheel but had to change track after the American pulled out in the third stage following a crash.
Belgian Gert Steegmans took over control of the sprints from Rodriguez and the combination is working well after Australia's McEwen won the fourth and Friday's sixth stage.
"It was like sitting on a TGV (high speed train) and I just had to get out at my stop," McEwen said.
I'm the only one with this ticket, so I get in and take off.
"We used to discuss the right system, the right timing," McEwen, who wears the green jersey for the best sprinter, told a news conference after the 189-km stage from Lisieux to Vitre.
"Now I have to do it with Gert Steegmans. In stage four, it worked perfectly but yesterday we made a mistake."
Steegmans thought the 500-metre mark was the 200-metre one and started the sprint too early, denying his leader a possible victory.
McEwen said he had no specific tactics to keep the green jersey for the third time in his career.
"I do not want to sprint for small bonuses. The only thing I want to do is winning stages and the points coming with it."
McEwen won the Giro d'Italia's second, fourth and sixth stages, a similar run to this year's Tour de France.
"I really hope to win at least another one and get rid of this obsessive compulsive thing," he said.