Lotto’s Aussie sprint ace Robbie McEwen won the second stage of Paris-Nice, edging out overall race leader Alessandro Petacchi in a charge to the line in Belleville, France, Tuesday.

McEwen finished ahead of Petacchi, who retained the leader's overall jersey, and Estonia's Jaan Kirsipuu following a hilly 170km stage from Moulins to Belleville. Andrea Tafi of Italy and Germany's Danilo Hondo finished fourth and fifth.

"I'm doing a lot better this year than last when I fell three times and had a really disrupted season,” McEwen said after the finish. “It's my eighth victory of the season but the most satisfying is still my win in the Australian championships. I just hope I can keep up my good form till Milan-San Remo (March 23)."

Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo team kept tabs on the first breakaway of the day by France's Stephane Auge, and Belgians Glenn D'Hollander and Paul Van Hyfte in a hilly section of the Beaujolais region about 60km from the finish.

Italy's Dario Cioni and Jo Planckaert of Belgium, who also mounted an attack, were caught in the final 20 kilometers, leaving the stage set for the sprinters on a slight incline to the finishing line.

The 29-year-old McEwen, who also won Etoile de Besseges in February, is in second spot overall, having moved to just three seconds behind Petacchi before Wednesday's third stage in hills near St Etienne.