ORIHUELA, Spain (AP) — Alessandro Petacchi recorded his 20th Spanish Vuelta stage victory by taking the seventh leg on Friday, while Philippe Gilbert of Belgium maintained the overall lead for the fifth straight day.
The Italian Lampre-Farnese cyclist easily won the sprint finish of the 116.3-mile ride from Murcia to Orihuela. His winning time was 4 hours, 36 minutes, 12 seconds.
British rider Mark Cavendish was second and Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina was third in the same time.
Gilbert of Pharma-Lotto finished 10th in the same time to keep the leader’s red jersey and a 10-second lead over Spanish duo Joaquin Rodriguez and Igor Anton.
