"He's the real threat to Milan" - Robbie McEwen favors Tadej Pogacar to win the Green jersey at Tour

Robbie McEwen has won the Points Classification at Tour de France three times (2002, 2004, 2006), so he can be seen as a bit of an expert on the subject. And according to the legendary Australian sprinter, the competition this year is far from finished with Tadej Pogacar quickly closing in onto the current leader Jonathan Milan.

"It's very far from over," McEwen told Cyclingnews. "Jonathan Milan has the lead, but it's not secure because Tadej Pogacar is just going to keep winning stages, and if he doesn't win, then he's going to place highly. He's the real threat to Milan."

"So, Milan has to get into breaks and get intermediate sprints and then score well at every finish left that suits him. But it's a really interesting battle, of course, because Tadej can win on any hard stage."

And it doesn't have to be just a battle between "climber" Pogacar and "sprinter" Milan. Third man in the classification Mathieu van der Poel currently trails Milan by 58 points, but the Dutchman has been slowly moving up in the rankings in the versatile stages and with Tadej Pogacar not entirely fussed over Green jersey, Van der Poel could quickly catch up to Milan.

"Mathieu van der Poel is getting in breaks and picking up points," McEwen said. "He'd be a lot more of a threat and a lot closer if he had only concentrated on himself. But he's been such a good teammate, leading out Jasper Philipsen and Kaden Groves, so he's been leaving some points on the table. I think Tadej is the biggest threat to Milan, so [Lidl-Trek] really have to make the most of every chance they get."

McEwen then notes that the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider might've been already in the lead had he not sacrificed himself for his teammates in the first week. "If Mathieu were to come into the Tour and concentrate only on himself and focus on green and on intermediate sprints, then sure, he could win a green jersey."

While Tim Merlier may not be actively chasing the green jersey himself, he could still play a key part in how the battle unfolds. Winner of two sprints this year, Merlier has already denied Milan 40 points simply by being faster to the line. With not so many sprint stages left in this Tour, every point could count and Milan not winning on the opportunities given could prove to be a decisive factor.

"He's the top guy, and that could also be something in the end which stands in the way of Milan winning the green jersey – if he doesn't take the 50 points at the end of a flat stage because Merlier beats him. That could end up being the difference between Milan and Pogačar for green."