McEwen peerless in Lucens

The 34-year-old - the only top flight sprinter at the Swiss event because leading finishers had decided to miss it - surged in the last stretch to beat Slovenia's Borut Bozic and Italy's Enrico Gasparotto.

"I felt very bad all day and I was a little bit lucky. I only followed and I'm very happy because it was my only chance to win a stage this year," said the Predictor-Lotto rider after winning the stage between La Chaux-de-Fonds and Lucens.

Italy's Paolo Savoldelli was stopped by the spectacular crash which marred the finale, but still retained his overall lead for the third day running.

The crash, which took place when Colombia's Leonardo Duque hit the tarmac in the middle of the bunch, involved half a dozen riders, including Briton David Millar but most were unhurt.

McEwen is one of the best sprinters in the world, with more than 130 victories behind him, including 11 stage wins in both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia.

It was a spectacular reversal of fortune for the Australian, who finished last in the prologue and the first stage.

"There was no point in taking risks. In the prologue I almost crashed in the first turn and I had cramps yesterday so I did not fight. I just put on the smallest gear and rode to the finish," he said.

McEwen, who won stages in the Tour Down Under and Tirreno-Adriatico this year, had enough class and experience left to outshine the rest of the field once he had made sure of finishing with them.

"It's a matter of instinct and making the right decisions at the right time," he said.

McEwen's priorities have always been to win stages on the big tours and it is what he intends to do again in the Giro, later this month. In the longer term, the Australian is determined to finish the Tour de France in the hope of winning the green jersey for the best sprinter.

"In a race like here, I know I have an extra gear. But in the Giro, I will be back with my friends Alessandro Petacchi or Thor Hushovd, and it will be a much different race," he said.

The stage was marked by a long breakaway led by Frenchman Nicolas Crosbie, who attacked after 57 km, held a maximum lead of nine minutes and was caught 17 km from the finish.

Friday's third stage takes the riders from Moudon to Charmey-en-Gruyere over 162.3 km.