Robbie McEwen of the Katusha team won the derny criterium in Antwerpen, Belgium. The 38-year-old finished ahead of his sprint rival Alessandro Petacchi and Belgian Tour de France star Jurgen Van den Broeck. It was McEwen's second win in Antwerpen, after 2006.
Despite it being a low-key event, McEwen was happy about the victory. "It feels good to be able to win one again," McEwen told De Standaard. His only first place this season dates back to February, when he won the Trofeo Mallorca ahead of Koldo Fernández De Larrea (who won the first stage of the Vuelta a Burgos today) and Oscar Freire.
McEwen had to fight hard for the win, also because of the atmospheric conditions. "Halfway through the final it started to drizzle. Then I got scared a little bit. Rain on the cobbles is certainly no present. Fortunately it was only a small shower," McEwen said. It came to a showdown between McEwen and Alessandro Petacchi, who won the green jersey in this year's Tour de France for the best sprinter. "And then the sprint with Petacchi. I really didn't have much left."
McEwen didn't only have to fight the Italian speedster. "The pains of my crash in the Tour de France are past me , but I still have discomfort in my elbow."
The next races will be more prestigious again. "I am still doing Hamburg and the Eneco Tour," McEwen said.