Ahh the sprints! I love them. Even sitting in the commentary box, I can still feel the excitement of the last few kilometers. As a sprinter, you have to be on the edge of your saddle, fingers twitching near the brakes hoping that if the inevitable crash happens in front of you can avoid it -- but not wanting to brake, because you know you will loose at least twenty places in the line.

With a corner in the last 200 meters, it was certainly not a Petacchi finish, but more likely to suite someone who can take risks and explode at the last moment. Robbie McEwen is one such rider.

The Aussie has never really had a team to lead him out over the last kilometers. For almost his whole career he has had to fight by himself to find the right place to start his sprint. He did that well today, staying near the front and fighting off all challengers who attempted to swamp him. When he finally saw the line in the last 100 meters, he got the "jump" on all the other sprinters. With three or four bike lengths advantage, he didn't look back until he reached the line and saw he had enough of a lead to savor his first win at this year's Tour.

Of the contenders for the overall win none of the big names had any problems except Roberto Heras. He had a badly timed mechanical problem in the closing kilometers, but with the help of his team was able to quickly rejoin the pack and didn't lose any time

Don't miss tomorrow as the race takes in a bit of the "Hell of the North." A little piece of Paris Roubaix cobblestones -- should be interesting.