Post-stage quotes

By John Trevorrow in Paris

Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto, 2nd)

Are you disappointed about missing out in the sprint? "Oh no, not really. Steegmans went past everybody on the right and we hit the last corner on the inside – not well - and lost all our speed. From that moment I thought ‘this is going to be really difficult.' Looking back, I should have let Steegmans go into the corner and then came through behind the Credit Agricole guys. I could have changed my line and adjusted my speed through the corner. Instead I was bogged down and I went from just over 250 (meters from the line) and it was too far. At one hundred metres to go I was blown. Overall I'm very happy. The team and I had to work very hard for this (green) jersey."

Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto, 5th overall)

"I'm pretty happy with fifth (overall); very satisfied. I've ridden two tours now and to get eighth in my first tour and now fifth, well you've got to be pleased. A couple of things were out of my control. When certain guys got up the road, I don't have a GC team so there was not much that could be done. With a bit of luck I could have gained a couple of spots but that didn't happen. I didn't make too many fatal errors; I managed to stay upright so it was a pretty good tour."

Michael Rogers (T-Mobile, 10th overall)

Well done Mick, you now join Phil Anderson and Cadel as the only Australians to finish top 10 in the Tour de France.

"Really, oh wow, well that's great. I feel honoured to have done it. That's pretty illustrious company to be in."

I don't know of too many top 10s who spent the tour as a domestique? "I'm happy. I've had some pretty hard days and had to sacrifice. If I had have been able to just follow the wheels then I am sure I would have finished a lot higher but hey I'm a professional and I do what I'm paid to do. I did my job. I'm happy the team's happy so that's the most important thing."

Simon Gerrans (AG2R, 79th overall)

Was this a tough tour because of your limited preparation? "I was pretty happy to get to the finish actually. I was pretty happy to get to the start but even more so to get to the finish. This last week has been really tough for me. I have had to dig pretty deep. I really felt the lack of racing I'd had."

How do you rate the performance of your team? "This was a great tour for the team. We have two guys in the top 10, a stage win and a day in the yellow jersey. Our guys were up there the whole tour. It was great to be a part of it."