Robbie McEwen won a thrilling bunch sprint to claim the 228km second stage of the Tour de France overnight.

Norway's Thor Hushovd, third on the stage behind world champion Tom Boonen from Belgium, regained the leader's yellow jersey from American George Hincapie, who drops to fourth overall.

Davitamon's McEwen moved up to second in the yellow jersey standings, five seconds behind Hushovd, with Boonen third.

But it was his ninth stage victory overall on the race which lit up McEwen's face the most.

"It's my ninth stage win, and for me they are the most important thing in the race," said the Belgium-based Australian, affirming his preferences ahead of an anticipated battle for the green jersey.

Despite his recent 34th birthday, McEwen warned he is not yet finished.

"Every stage you win is special. I remember every one in a special way, but every year you have to prove yourself again and again.

"I've just turned 34, and they say that sprinters slow down as they get older. But I showed today I'm not quite there yet."

Hushovd, who had raced all day with his right arm bandaged and feeling groggy from medicine he'd taken to calm the pain from a deep cut on his arm, was unlucky again in the dying metres of the sprint.

As he pedalled furiously behind McEwen, his left foot came out of his cleat after he made contact with the Aussie's wheel. To his credit, the big Norwegian kept his calm, and his line, to get his foot back in. His bike-handling skills did the rest, but it was yet another dramatic drive to keep the yellow jersey.

It has been a topsy-turvy Tour so far for Hushovd, who won the prologue on Saturday only to lose it the next day when his arm was dramatically slashed by a fan holding a big green cardboard hand at the barriers.

But Hushovd refused to be drawn on suggestions that McEwen, who on occasions has been accused of being a sprint kamikaze, was at fault.

"There's been a lot of drama for me in the past few days," said Hushovd.

"But I've managed to keep my morale up. In the sprint my foot came out, I think I hit McEwen's bike when I was pedalling.

"Robbie is just like all the other sprinters. But today he didn't do anything wrong. I can't blame him today, I can just blame myself."

Australia’s other big name riders finished with the same time in the Stage. Stuart O’Grady (Team CSC) was 7th, Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) 16th and Cadel Evans (Davitamon–Lotto) in 18th.

Justin Davis
AFP