Erik Zabel was outsprinted for the second day in a row but insisted he was content to retain his green jersey in his native Germany.

Local favourite Zabel was aiming for his 11th stage win in the Tour the day after his 32nd birthday.

But for the second straight day the Team Telekom sprint ace was beaten to the line.

He finished third behind stage winner Oscar Freire, of Mapei, and Australian Robbie McEwen.

"It was a hard stage and I can only say that Freire and McEwen were better than I was," said Zabel, who is aiming for a seventh straight win in the green jersey points competition.

Zabel finished second behind surprise winner Rubens Bertogliati on stage one in Luxembourg, with Lotto's McEwen in third.

But his efforts to accumulate bonus points - he picked up eight for third place in Germany - kept him in green and elevated him into second behind Bertogliati in the overall standings.

"To finish in my country with the green jersey on my back is not too bad," he said.

Meanwhile, Freire, world road race champion in 1999 and 2001, was surprised to have pulled off a sprinting coup but admitted he did not particularly set out to ruin Zabel's day.

"I wasn't expecting to win today because I'm not in good shape," said the Spaniard.

"But in a sprint anything can happen with a little bit of luck and a lot of motivation.

"I just tried to stay in front. I saw that McEwen was very close to the barricades but I decided to take a risk and I managed to pull it off."

He added: "It's not so much who you beat - it's my 13th victory and that's what's important."

Tuesday's third stage travels 185km from Metz to Reims.