Robbie McEwen came within a whisker of winning last year's Tour de France green jersey but was pipped to the post by countryman Baden Cooke on the Champs Elysees.
A year on, McEwen is already the leading sprinter in the green jersey after winning the second stage and finishing third on Tuesday. And he will again be one of the leading sprinters in the peloton throughout the race.
Here, the Australian profiles the leading contenders in the bunch sprints.
ROBBIE MCEWEN
My form has come good at exactly the right time. After a stage win in the Giro and a further two wins in the Tour of Switzerland, I'm fairly confident I'm 100%. An early race win always helps towards that.
It's obviously difficult to gauge how everyone else is, but there's something there for me that was missing a year ago.
I feel fresher - almost like I've got an extra bit of bite.
MARIO CIPOLLINI
He's been written off more than most in the past and, who knows, maybe his critics will be right this year.
Clearly he is past his best - very much in the twilight of his career. But people have said that before and he's generally always bounced back.
The same edge that made him a legend of the sprints in the past may be gone, but that's not to say a stage win is not well within him.
BADEN COOKE
Baden's the guy I'll really be looking to get revenge after he shouldered me out on the Champs Elysees in 2003, although that said, it'll be a friendly rivalry as always!
He really came into his own last year and he could well be even stronger if he starts to find his stride, which he hasn't quite yet.
Some have criticised his kamikaze style in the past but that's nonsense. The top sprinters are well aware what they're coming up against with Baden. It's every man for himself.
THOR HUSHOVD
He's very different to a lot of the other sprinters. Unlike me, Petacchi and Cooke, he's not the sort of guy that quite has the ultimate burst in the final sprints despite his second place on Monday.
He is more about shining in the intermediate sprints - and picking up points and crucial seconds in the early part of each stage.
That said, he's caused a stir before and is tactically astute when it comes to the finishing line. He's usually there or thereabouts.
STUART O'GRADY
Few guys have more experience at this than him. He's been around a long time and has worn both the green and the yellow jerseys in past Tours de France.
His pace is a little off what it used to be for the stage finishes and his switch to Cofidis may in fact hamper him, but he's still a smart rider.
Like Hushovd, he'll be pushing for the points as and when the intermediates pop up.
ALESSANDRO PETACCHI
Petacchi is something else and he's the guy that's setting the standard this season. I saw more of the back of him in the Giro d'Italia than I would have liked, although I've changed that on the Tour so far.
He doesn't hang around with the intermediate sprints because he has absolute faith in the power of his cycling in the final part of each stage.
And to go with it, he's a top guy. He's one of the guys I really get on with.
ERIK ZABEL
I get on pretty well with all the sprinters, despite the fact that we go head to head with each other on a day-to-day basis.
But Zabel's a different matter. We just don't get on - don't see eye to eye.
That doesn't take away from the fact that he's achieved a hell of a lot in global sprinting terms. Some of the pace has gone but he's still a wiley old competitor.
MMIX
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