McEwen chooses perfect moment

CYCLING/ Tour de France: Larrikins are apparently an endangered species in Australia, but perhaps they have simply migrated.

For the last few years a fair number of them have been on the other side of the world bringing their unique brand of chirpiness and adventurous, never-say-die spirit to this race, and yesterday's predictably terrifying sprint went to the archetypal larrikin himself, the puckish Robbie McEwen.

The curly-haired Brisbaner, a former BMX racer, is known for producing wheelies, particularly when the Tour's autobus of non-climbers crosses each year's final mountain, and he rarely minces his words. Indeed, he is one of the few in the Tour field to have dared answer back to Lance Armstrong, during a little spat two years ago.

There was no argument about the sprint. It had looked destined for Alessandro Petacchi, whose Fassa Bortolo team had opted to abandon their young Swiss Fabian Cancellara, in his yellow jersey, in favour of securing stage wins for their sprinter, who took four last year. As if to make the point, it was Cancellara who guided the field at 40 m.p.h. along the banks of the Moselle into the final kilometre.

Petacchi was perfectly set up but was blocked when McEwen surged clear. Instinctively the Australian chose the perfect moment, as the other sprinters hesitated momentarily after France's Jimmy Casper and the Dane Kurt-Asle Arvesen hit the Tarmac in a tangle of bikes and limbs on the final left-hand bend leading into the finish. McEwen's margin at the line over the second-placed Thor Hushovd was more than a bike length.

"I wouldn't say it was easy to start the sprint at 40 m.p.h. on the last corner but it came automatically," said McEwen. "When you're in form, it just comes right."

He is again aiming for the green points jersey, which he won in 2002 and lost on the final stage last year to his fellow Australian Baden Cooke.

Switching in and out of Flemish with the fluency that comes of living in Belgium for almost 10 years and has enabled him to establish himself as leader of the de facto national team, Lotto-Domo, McEwen dedicated his victory to his late team-mate Steve Vermaut, who was buried yesterday after becoming the latest of a string of cyclists to die of heart failure in the last 18 months.

Hushovd's reward for second place was the yellow jersey, thanks to the bonus of 12 seconds deducted from his overall time. He is the first man from his native Norway to wear the maillot jaune.

The smaller riders will be dreading today. The stage starts in Waterloo and some of the field may meet theirs when the race returns to France over two sections of the notorious cobbles used by the Paris-Roubaix Classic.

Scanlon moves up

Mark Scanlon had another impressive performance yesterday, forging ahead in a six-man breakaway shortly after the start and staying clear for 162 kilometres. The 23-year-old Tour debutant took second and third in two of the day's bonus sprints, and while the group were reeled in 25 kilometres from the finish, the time gained on those primes sees Scanlon up to 36th overall.

"We attacked at the top of the fourth-category climb about 10 km after the start," he said at the finish in Namur.

"A few guys went for the King of the Mountains prime and then afterwards four riders went clear. Myself and Sebastian Lang jumped across to them and the lead just grew from there.

"The plan was to take the pressure off my Ag2R team. We thought that the Fassa Bortolo team would chase later on but the Credit Agricole team also rode to set things up for a bunch finish and to put Thor Hushovd into yellow. We were caught, but it was a good effort."

Scanlon did much of the work in the group, the former world junior champion showing just why he is considered one of the big talents for the future.

- Shane Stokes