White was floored. There the Queenslander was, on the eve of his own adieu as a racer and as far away as the United States, thinking of his team back in Europe and trying to provide them with that extra edge. ''He gave me detail about how he beat Petacchi. How do you remember that? That is so analytical,'' White told The Age. ''He said, 'You have to go to this fence … boom, boom, boom.' He was giving unbelievable details of seven years ago, of how he won.'' White makes no secret of not having always seen eye to eye with McEwen, but that was more when they were cyclists and thrown into competitive environments. But when asked the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of McEwen, whose racing career also includes 12 Tour de France stage wins, 12 Giro stage wins, 12 Tour Down Under stage wins, and five victories in the Paris-Brussels one-day classic, White smiles broadly and replies: ''Winner.'' ''He is one of the most driven winners you have ever met … But the career he has had over such a long period, to keep that drive, that winning mentality to the death - he is still trying to think about winning a stage in the Tour of California. It's about, 'win, win, win'.''

McEwen will be feted at the Tour of California, even if there are really only two stages in which he could have a realistic chance of winning. Win or lose Sunday's final stage from Beverly Hills to Los Angeles - his best option - The Age understands he will be given a podium farewell. On site to witness his last pedal strokes will be Gerry Ryan, the Melbourne businessman who has funded Orica-GreenEDGE and has followed the career of McEwen since 1995, before he turned professional with the Dutch Rabobank team in 1996. Ryan's eyes light up at the mention of McEwen. ''When you are looking at riders who have had a huge impact in the awareness of cycling on a world scene, Robbie has got to be right up there among them with what he has achieved,'' Ryan said.

''He is a real ambassador, not only for the sport but he is also a very marketable person. I have watched this baby-face kid grow into the champion he has become. But along with it, he has never forgotten the people who have helped him, nor has he forgotten the fans.'' Ryan still rates McEwen's greatest win as his stage victory into Canterbury in the 2007 Tour de France after he fought back from a huge crash in the dying kilometres as the peloton was racing away to the finish. ''He crashed and was gone for all money, but within a few hundred metres he had got up to win … I went up to him after and he was all mangled up. But to me that was one of his best wins, at least of what I have seen anyway.'' Shayne Bannan, the Orica-GreenEDGE general manager who has known McEwen since those days, agrees with Ryan. ''The stage to Canterbury really typifies and summarises Robbie as an individual. He had that fall, chased hard, the team helped and he got there just before the finish and did the impossible and won the sprint,'' Bannan said.

''You remember the Canterbury win because of how it was achieved. When you look at Robbie, he didn't really need big trains … he just has an amazing ability to read a race and he is able to get everything out of himself. He has been an exceptional inspiration to all of us.'' Loading McEwen won't be lost to Australian cycling. After the Tour of California, McEwen, who last year relocated from Belgium to the Gold Coast with his wife Angelique Pattyn, son Ewan and daughters Elena and Claudia, will be Orica-GreenEDGE's sprint consultant. Rupert Guinness is covering the Giro d'Italia courtesy of Eurosport.