 | MCGEE FACTFILE DOB: 24/2/76 Nationality: Australian Best Tour: 2003 - prologue win/yellow jersey wearer |
Bradley McGee had warned ahead of last year's prologue in Paris he was aiming for the yellow jersey. Although a good time trialler, few believed he would get the better of Lance Armstrong or David Millar.
As it was, McGee was a tad lucky to take the win, after Millar's chain slipped in the latter stages, causing him to miss out by less than a second.
For the Australian, catching out his main rivals is part of his style, having done it on stage seven in 2002.
With only a few hundred metres remaining he pulled clear of the peloton and just managed to hold off being caught by the top sprinters.
This time the Australian will be a marked man should he try to pull off a similar feat, but he has a genuine belief he can repeat the feat during the 2004 race.
McGee is in the relative infancy of his career and has yet to reach his peak as a rider.
But he believes he has the makings of a team leader at FDJeux.com and is capable of being a future winner of the Tour.
Despite finishing 109th, more than two-and-a-half hours behind Lance Armstrong, he argues he has yet to bother to push in the general classification.
He recently told the BBC Sport website: "I'm happy to see Lance winning the next one and then I'll think more seriously about the general classification.
"I believe I have the ability and, by then, I should be hitting my peak as a rider. Wearing the yellow jersey remains the ultimate goal."
Few would disagree after his brave ride in the Giro d'Italia in which he finished eighth, six minutes down on race winner Damiano Cunago.
MMIX
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