Bad luck blows Michael Matthews' chances as Caleb Ewan shines

Instead it was his fellow Australian Caleb Ewan who delivered an unmistakable message as he completed his Tour de France debut with a prestigious final stage victory - his third of his debut Tour.

Matthews was hoping to be the one saluting in Paris on Monday morning, but his hopes of being part of the bunch-sprint finish were ruined about nine kilometres before the finish when he had to stop to change his bike due to a mechanical issue.

He fought his way back to the peloton, but couldn't get close enough to contest the sprint and was 28^th across the line.

Matthews came close to adding to his three Tour stage wins with one second and two fourths in the 2019 race.

He said his Tour wasn't a success, but both he and his Sunweb teammates had fought hard throughout the three weeks.

"I tried to save the legs as much as possible over the past few days," Matthews said.

"We were really motivated for [Monday] and I felt good, but unfortunately the luck was not on our side.

"When I saw that I had a bad mechanical I was still hoping to get back for the finale.

"I had a fast bike change from the team and I really appreciate that.

"We fought all the way to the line ... and hopefully we can keep that spirit going and break the bad luck train we're on at the moment."

In contrast, Ewans' Tour was a massive success, having well and truly arrived among road cycling's best sprinters.

The day's of waiting and hoping for a start in the Tour are over.

The 25-year-old Ewan revealed he kept a promise he made to himself in Paris eight years ago, that the next time he returned to the Champs-Elysees it would be as winner of the final stage, considered an unofficial world championship by the sprinters.

True to his word, the Lotto Soudal star escaped being blocked and rattled home beside the right-side barriers to edge out Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo- Visma) and Italy's Niccolo Bonifazio (TDE).

"When we rolled onto the Champs-Elysees, I almost had tears in my eyes, it was such a surreal feeling. I can't believe I just won the stage," Ewan told cyclingnews.com.

Ewan left his previous team, Australian-owned Mitchelton-Scott team, after they said he would ride last year's Tour before changing their minds.

He made up for lost time and ensured a lengthy career in cycling's grandest tour by winning three stages with his new team, taking time to hit his straps before winning stages 11, 16 and 21.

Not only that, he finished on the podium in every stage where there was a bunch sprint.

Ewan had a good answer when asked if he thought he was now the world's best sprinter.

"I've proved I'm the best sprinter in this year's Tour de France," he said.

"I have to thank my team ... they helped me in every sprint and to get through in every mountain stage, there were no days off for them.

"They always had to bring me back into contention and help me 100 per cent, and they did that all through the Tour.

"I'm really pleased with how they rode."

Ewan had previously won stages on the other grand tours - the Giro (in 2017) and 2019) and Vuelta a Espana (2015).

Now he is finally on his way to emulating Australian great Robbie McEwen, who won 12 Tour de France stages in his career, including the Champs-Elysees finale in 1999 and 2002.

Ewan was asked about the main differences he found at Belgian-owned Lotto Soudal.

"The principal change is that I've really got a lot of freedom with my team ... this team's focused on stage wins, and that's ideal for me," he said.

Long touted as a potential Tour de France winner during a luckless career, Australia's Richie Porte finished 11th overall, 12min 42sec behind 22-year-old winner Egan Bernal of Colombia. with AAP