They’re already calling it the "McEwen Corner," the tricky, 180-degree U-turn that comes 450 meters from the finish line in the road world championships course in Madrid.

There’s a growing consensus that the technical finish favors the puckish Australian, known for his tenacity both on and off the bike. McEwen is scheduled to arrive to Madrid on Thursday and head up a motivated and well-disciplined Australian team built around setting him up for a sprint finish.

VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood spoke with McEwen on Tuesday evening via telephone at his home in Belgium to get the full scoop from one of the top favorites for Sunday’s elite men’s road race. McEwen opined about Petacchi, Boonen, the significance of the world title and the controversial team selection. Here are excerpts from the interview:

VeloNews.com: How are you feeling coming into Madrid?

Robbie McEwen: I’ve been going well. My recuperation after the Tour is on track, and to tell the truth, I am probably a little further ahead than I thought I would be. Ten days ago I had a nice double (victories at Paris-Brussels and Formies). I’ve been using the races as training. Now I am just trying to sharpen my condition a little before Madrid. Last week I raced the GP Wallonie, which is very hilly, then I raced in Isbergues in hilly tough race in France, another 200km plus. Now it’s basically now just really maintaining the form and recovering from my last training rides. I will make one more training ride (Wednesday) and arrive on Thursday.

VN.com: Have you had a chance to recon the course yet?

RM: I was just having a look at the TV. I recorded last 30-40km from Vuelta stage on Sunday. They didn’t do the entire circuit, it appears they didn’t do one of the hills and sort of cut off course, but I got a good look at the first climb. On Sunday I will have 13 chances to look at those hills before it’s really important. If I have that opportunity to preview the course I will. It’s not so important to preview the course. We’ve got 270km of racing, so we’ll see it quite a bit. In Zolder, we pre-rode the circuit once. It’s not going to change how I ride it and it’s not possible to suddenly change my preparation based on what I see a day before the race. I just have to see what happens during the race.

VN.com: Have you made any special training to build strength for the longer world’s distance?

RM: I had a solid week in early September with a string of multiple one-day races. I’ve just been going and doing some long racing. That’s why I took on Paris-Brussels and Formies. That was 230km backed up with 210km. That gives you some resistance to race 270km. I don’t have to go out and train 270km to race 270km. It’s not a question of just putting in more time on the bike.

VN.com: How does the longer racing distance change the dynamic of the race?

RM: It’s a smaller group that finishes, that’s for sure. They said the Athens course wasn’t that hard, but even if we had caught the front guys, we still only had 40 guys. Madrid will be the same. I expect 50 guys to be left over for the sprint, maybe not even that many. The distance is a factor.

VN.com: How important were your recent victories for your confidence?

RM: I won those two races, so it’s good for the morale. Even Sunday I wasn’t feeling great, I was boxed in, and I still finished third, not bad for riding on the seat when the others are out of the saddle. My condition is good, so let’s see if I can hang in there. There’s going to be a lot of attacking. We have me, Petacchi and Boonen, but a lot of the other guys are going to try to avoid it coming down to a sprint. I have to hang on for grim death.

VN.com: Forecasters are calling for a chance for a lot of heat, is that good for you?

RM: It depends on how hot it is. It would make a natural selection. It was hot in Athens, but I was still good in the end. If I can do that there, then I should be OK here. I don’t mind it, you just have to make sure you stay hydrated. That makes the key difference.

VN.com: Most of your adversaries were at the Vuelta, was that a conscious decision to avoid the race or was it because you had already raced the Giro and Tour?

RM: Because I did both the Giro and the Tour, if I had to race the Vuelta, it would be too long of a build up to the world’s. I wanted to go for a shorter buildup. The Vuelta also started earlier in August, so I wasn’t recovered yet from the Tour. I chose a preparation of one-day races when I have the opportunity to fine-tune my form. I have time from races to recover and train harder, put in longer days if I have to or rest if I need to. I don’t have to line up for the Vuelta stage. You either start everyday or you pull out and go home. I wanted more flexibility.

VN.com: Looking back at 2002, you were one wheel length away from the world title, does that give you any extra motivation this year?

RM: Well, I was motivated then. I had never been to the world’s before as a pro, so the motivation was very high. I don’t think of it like that. I’m motivated because I know I have to chance to win the worlds. If it’s a not course suited for me, I leave it alone and let someone else race for the rainbow jersey.

VN.com: You’ve won just about everything a sprinter can win, how big would a world’s victory be for you?

RM: It would top everything. It would top the lot. I’ve won a lot of stuff in my career. I haven’t won a World Cup, but just about everything a sprinter can win, I’ve won. I’ve won stages in all the big tours, I’ve won points jerseys, I’ve won national jerseys. A world title would be right on the top shelf.

VN.com: There was some controversy with the Australian selection – O’Grady and White saying they didn’t want to ride to support you – how does that affect you?

RM: The Australian selectors wanted to go for a team with one leader and the general consensus was that that should be me based from the results I’ve had this year. It’s fair enough it’s not in their interest to work for someone else because they ride for other teams. The selectors realized this, too. We’ve got riders who ride for different teams, but we’ve all agreed to work for one leader. If someone doesn’t want to do the team thing, then they can stay home.

VN.com: Are you confident you’ll have the support of the rest of the team?

RM: That was part of the deal to be on the team, riding for one team leader. We’re nine riders. It’s hard enough to race as a unit if you have these little cliques with riders working for one rider, but refusing for another. Everyone has agreed to ride for one team leader or they weren’t on the team.

VN.com: What are the assigned roles and who will spring you for the final sprint?

RM: I have Allan Davis, Brett Lancaster and Baden Cooke, they’re all riding strong and hopefully they can be there for me in the end. Henk Vogels, depending on how far he can get in the race, will be important. We also have guys like Mick Rogers and Cadel Evans who can be at the front of the race and survive. It’s all about getting down there and keep talking to each other about who’s feeling strong.

VN.com: Looking to your adversaries, is there one that gives you more of a fright than others?

RM: I’ve beaten them all at one point or another this season, but they’ve all beaten me along the way. We all know who the list of favorites is. Petacchi has shown good form in Vuelta without a lot of really heavy competition. He wasn’t really threatened in the sprints. Mostly Zabel was on the wheel but he couldn’t come off the wheel, none of the others were capable of getting into that position. In the sprint, he was looking pretty good, not unbeatable, but nobody was strong enough to even try.

VN.com: What about Boonen? He even suggested he was at the Vuelta for training.

RM: I think Boonen is going to be strong, maybe not as strong as he was at Flanders or Roubaix, but you really only know that on the day. Boonen was there the day Hushovd won. If you get the chance to win, you win. Everybody’s trying to be a bit cagey before the worlds, some to put pressure off themselves, others to put pressure on others. It really doesn’t matter if the guy’s standing on the podium with the rainbow jersey. He’ll be the one who did everything right because he’s the guy who won.

VN.com: A lot of your victories come without the luxury of a big set-up train like Petacchi or Cipollini had in his hey-day, is that something you’d like to have some day?

RM: I use two-three guys who help take me up to the front. In the end, I use a guy like Fred Rodriguez to pull the sprint or place me in the wheel of someone with strong teammates. Rodriguez was great at the Tour. You can’t be unrealistic and expect every team to have a big train for their sprinters. Part of it’s being calculating about your rivals and the teams, and judging what you can do with your own team. If someone else seems strong in the last kilometer, you see if you can jump that train. It’s not simple just to say I’m going to form a train. I’ve won a lot of races with my team helping me. I’ve managed to win races with just one, two guys helping, or on my own.

VN.com: Do you think you’re the best sprinter in the world right now?

RM: That’s something you cannot bestow on yourself, that’s for others to say. One day Petacchi wins, then everyone says he’s the best, then I come along and beat him, then everyone says I’m the best. There are a few guys on a similar level on the sprint. From what I read, I get the feeling the two fastest are myself and Petacchi. Boonen is not a pure sprinter but he can win because he’s so strong. At the end of the day, I know I am one of the fastest.

VN.com: You have a new teammate in Chris Horner, were you a factor in bringing him to the team?

RM: I wasn’t instrumental in bringing him to the team. The team saw him in the Tour and they saw a guy who is strong, a guy who is capable of winning races, so naturally the team is interested in riders like that. Henk (Vogels) knows him well and tells me he’s a strong guy for the team.

VN.com: Are you staying with Davitamon-Lotto beyond the end of your contract?

RM: At the moment, we’re still in final negotiations, but things are pretty rounded off. It looks like I will be staying here.

VN.com: You’ve been racing a long time, do you still enjoy now as you did when you began?

RM: I like it just as much, maybe even more. I’m not searching for the right way to do thing. I know what my around, I know how to get myself in form, I’m winning bigger races, things are going great, so I’m still really enjoying it. If I didn’t love doing it, I wouldn’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great way to make a living and the money’s good, but can’t fake it in this sport. You can’t be making sacrifice to train, the pain, spending a lot of time away from home if you don’t love it at a certain level. If you don’t like doing it, just stay home.