Goss to renew Tour de France sprint battle

13 Jul 2012, 6:18 pm   -   Source: AAP
Cadel Evans (pic) lost time to leader Brad Wiggins during the 11th stage of the Tour de France. (AAP)

Cadel Evans (pic) lost time to leader Brad Wiggins during the 11th stage of the Tour de France. (AAP)

Australian sprinter Matt Goss is chasing a stage win and the green jersey in the Tour de France.

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Between the Alps and Pyrenees, there is some respite for Cadel Evans at the Tour de France and crucial days for Matt Goss.

This is the "transition" phase of the Tour, where the stages come off the big mountain passes and go through the south of the country.

There are three days where there should be little change at the top of the overall standings before next Tuesday's rest day in Pau and then two crucial stages through the Pyrenees.

While stage 14 features two category-one climbs and will better suit the opportunists, stages 13 and 15 will be the domain of Goss and his sprint rivals.

Stage 13 runs from St-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Le Cap d'Agde and only features a category-three climb near the finish.

Goss and his Orica-GreenEDGE team are closing on their two goals in the team's debut Tour - a stage win and the green jersey classification.

Between Goss and his teammates, they have achieved every stage placing from second to seventh.

Peter Sagan continues to lead the green jersey, but Goss has reduced his deficit to the young Slovakian star from a high of 61 after stage three to only 27.

A key for Goss' chances will be how well Orica-GreenEDGE can organise their new-look leadout train for the sprint finishes.

Baden Cooke is part of their sprint tactics for the first time at this Tour and they have struggled at times against Andre Greipel and his Lotto-Belisol combination.

"We're fighting with a really strong train from Lotto," Goss said.

"They've raced all the guys together from the start of the year so they're super well drilled and we're kind of a bit new.

"We're still learning and we're getting better and better and, if we can get it right, a stage win is a real possibility."

A stage win also would reduce the green jersey gap between Goss and Sagan dramatically.

"It only takes one incident - it could happen to Sagan, it could happen to me - and all of a sudden it can all change," Goss said.

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