Who's too old to sprint?

The Robbie McEwen show continued in stage 6, as he picked up his third stage win in the first week of the Tour and extended his lead in the green jersey race.

McEwen (www.velonews.com)
Erik Zabel is the gold standard of sprinters, so let's compare the two to make a point about how amazing McEwen is.

Zabel won the green jersey 6 consecutive tours, which is a record. He leads all active riders with 12 TdF stage wins. He used to own the green jersey competition, but he doesn't anymore because time catches up to everyone. Zabel celebrated his 36th birthday a couple days ago. He has not won a TdF stage since 2002.

Zabel & son, 2002. (news.bbc.co.uk)
One reason I didn't pick McEwen to win the green jersey is that time catches up to everyone. He turned 34 a few weeks ago. But his 3 stage wins in this Tour give him 11 for his career. It's easy to see him passing Zabel's tally over the next 2 weeks. McEwen may win his 3rd green jersey this year, but it's hard to imagine him matching Zabel's 6. But apparently, one thing McEwen has on everyone, even Zabel, is his longevity as the baddest dude in the bunch sprint.