Australian McEwen sprints to second Tour stage win

Australian rider Robbie McEwen sprinted to his second stage victory in this year's Tour de France in yesterday's seventh stage. McEwen, who had won the fifth stage in Montargis on Wednesday, beat Swede Magnus Backstedt and Austrian Bernhard Eisel into...

Australian rider Robbie McEwen sprinted to his second stage victory in this year's Tour de France in yesterday's seventh stage.

McEwen, who had won the fifth stage in Montargis on Wednesday, beat Swede Magnus Backstedt and Austrian Bernhard Eisel into second and third places respectively at the end of the day's 228.5 km run from Luneville. The sprint was marred by a crash involving several riders a few metres from the line.

American Lance Armstrong, chasing a seventh Tour win, came in with the pack to retain the race leader's yellow jersey.

The stage was marked by a long solo breakaway by German Fabian Wegmann, who was reined in 23km from home but did enough to capture the mountain leader's polka dot jersey.

Today's eighth stage is a bumpy 231.5-km ride from the German town of Pforzheim to the French town of Gerardmer, at the foot of the Vosges mountains.

The race ends on July 24.

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