Australian sprinters Robbie McEwen and Baden Cooke are set to go head to head for the Tour de France points title all the way to the race's end in Paris on July 27.

Cooke leads the competition, which is based on riders finishing stages in the top 15 and earning bonus points in intermediate sprints, with 140 points and wears the special green jersey. But McEwen is breathing down his neck with 131.

"Baden is definitely the one to beat. He won the field sprint in Marseille and so now has a nine-point lead," McEwen told reporters after Tuesday's stage. "It's not a lot, but it's always better to be leading than chasing when you're going for the green jersey."

McEwen won the first intermediate sprint on Tuesday and pulled back two points -- though Cooke claimed he had won.

"I sure I won it, but there was no photo finish camera," he said. "Robbie got past me but I came back and threw my bike at the line first and edged him out.

"My team director is going to find some video footage of the sprint and make a protest. It's important because it's worth a four-point difference.

"I was stewing on that bad decision for the rest of the stage, but fortunately I got the most points in the sprint for ninth place at the finish."

Cooke, 23 and riding only his second Tour, is convinced he can win the green jersey.

"I'm riding well and didn't suffer too much in the mountain stages in the Alps. My whole team is really motivated to help me and so I've got a really strong lead out in the sprints."

However, McEwen has the experience of having won the green jersey in 2002. "There's still a long way to go and a lot can happen in a short space of time," he said.

"I had a 25-point lead before the stage to Lyon but then I crashed and Cooke got 30 points for finishing second.

"I struggled in the Alps and I've got a bit of a digestion problem, but I'm not giving up and I'm going to fight for every point all the way to Paris."

As an extra motivation for the sprints, organisers have created a special points competition for the centennial edition of the Tour.

Points are awarded in the six cities which hosted stage finishes in the first ever Tour de France in 1903. 

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