Robbie McEwen likened the roar of the crowd in the home straight to that of a football grand final after charging home to win the final stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under on Sunday.

Like he has done so many times in a star-studded career, McEwen, 32, timed his run perfectly down the 500-meter finishing straight to get over the top of Italian Paride Grillo (Ceramiche Panaria-Navigare) and Queenslander Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros).

It was the Davitamon-Lotto sprint star's third Tour Down Under stage win of this race and the 11th he's won over the course of event's seven-year history.

But while McEwen was basking in the glory of another successful summer - he has also won the Jayco Bay Classic and Australian Open road championship this month - young Spaniard Luis Sanchez lived up to the hype surrounding him by duly defending the leader's yellow jersey for the biggest win of his fledgling career.

Sanchez took a 35-second lead into Sunday's final stage and with his Liberty Seguros teammates controlling proceedings at the front of the peloton throughout the 18 laps of a 4.5km circuit, the end result was never in doubt.

The 21-year-old Sanchez, from the Murcia region, has been touted as the latest successor to five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain, but the amiable Spaniard laughed at the suggestion.

“I would like and I've dreamt of having even one-half the quality and the capability that he had,” Sanchez said of Indurain through interpreter, Australian Neil Stephens.

Despite having a seemingly unassailable lead after he and teammate Alberto Contador blitzed Saturday's stage by breaking clear to the top of Old Willunga Hill, Sanchez said he was still nervous coming into the Tour's final stage.

“You all know on an open circuit, if they go really fast anything can happen, so I was really nervous,” he said.

The unassuming Spaniard who is hoping to ride in his first Tour de France later this year, said he was surprised at his showing and how strong his team was.

“I not only surprised myself, but it was surprising how strong the team was,” he said. “We knew we'd worked really hard through winter and we knew were going to be strong, but the work each of the boys has done this week has been outstanding.”

Robbie the Rocket scores again

Photo: Graham Watson

Three's a charm
McEwen's penchant for winning never seems to wane and the fact he prevailed again Sunday against top Australian sprinters such as Davis, Stuart O'Grady (fifth) Baden Cooke (seventh) and Graeme Brown (ninth) is testament to his will-to-win.

“It's like riding into the middle of the grand final here, so many people come out to watch, it's unbelievable,” McEwen said. “They risk coming out here in this weather and getting sun stroke to watch us go around on our bikes... not just coming out to have a look but they're so enthusiastic, they're yelling the riders names, even the foreign guys, cheering for everyone. It's such a great atmosphere; I'm just so happy to get another win because there's nothing like that feeling of crossing the line.”

Adelaide served as the hub of the week-long race

Photo: Graham Watson

Davis, eight years McEwen's junior and a training partner early in the season, was shattered to be relegated to third in the final stage after finishing second to Sanchez (33 seconds behind) in the general classification.

“I would have loved to get a win in that last stage, but first and second overall is not too bad,” he said. “I don't know how many top fives I've had this week, it just would have been nice to get that No. 1 spot.

“But full credit to Robbie today; he was just too good in those last couple of meters.”

O'Grady, riding for Cofidis, held on for third overall just one second clear of McEwen's Davitamon Lotto teammate Johan Van Summeren.