Robbie McEwen claimed his 10th career Tour de France win overnight, taking out the fourth stage in another hectic sprint.

Belgium’s Tom Boonen retained the race leader’s yellow jersey with Michael Rogers still only one-second back in second, after the 207km undulating route from Huy in Belgium to Saint Quentin in France.

McEwen’s second win on this year’s Tour has him 11-points clear for the coveted sprinter’s green jersey.

Boonen is his main rival for the prize McEwen has won twice before.

It was Boonen’s first day in the yellow jersey but it did not go toplan. He was unhappy that McEwen was able to pull ahead on a small crest following the last bend and cross the finish line with plenty of room to spare. The normally smiling star failing to attend the press conference.

McEwen lost his main lead-out man, American Freddie Rodriguez, due to injury from Tuesday’s crash however team-mate Gert Steegmans filled the void.

"Today we found a fantastic replacement with Gert Steegmans, that's why we brought him to the team," said McEwen.

"We were unhappy to lose Freddie because he's so good. Steegmans had to step in and fill Freddy's role. Even if I had written a script, it couldn't have been any better. He was just so strong."

On a day when yet another early breakaway was reeled in before the sprint finish, notably due to the efforts of McEwen's Davitamon team and Boonen's Quick Step, Steegmans proved he can step in to the breach.

Rogers and fellow Australian Cadel Evans both avoided any trouble. Rogers the road time trial World Champion is only one-second down and Evans, who is strongest in the mountains, is only 20 seconds down.

AOC