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Coming under the red kite, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Alessandro Petacchi (168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lampre-ISD) was looking set to seal his status as the top sprinter in the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Giro d'Italia. Tucked snu🌠gly in Danilo Hondo's slipstream and with thꦓe HTC-Highroad train seemingly derailed, the man from La Spezia must have fancied his chances during stage 10 as the peloton bowled down the finishing straight.

In opening his sprint with 250 metres to go, however, Petacchi did little more than offer the perfect lead-out to 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:a grateful Mark Cavendish, who 🌊cruised past to take his first s🌃tage win of this Giro.

After the finish, Petacchi was a picture 🐼of regret as he spoke to reporters in the shadow of the podium, the bleakness of his expression spectacularly at odds with the ꦇcolourful bouquet of flowers he had just been awarded as leader of the points competition.

"I made a mistake, I went too early," Petacchi said dolefully. "Having Cavendish on my wheel and going so early on a finish like that, at 250 metres to go, I just gave✱ him the victory."

Petacchi ultimately faded to finish third behind Cavendish and Francisco Ventoso (Movistar). Although he had insisted that his sprint form was in doubt before ౠthe Giro began, the fruits of Petacchi's April training camp at Etna has been apparent throughout the race, particularly on the slopes of the volcano itself on Sunday.

"I'm sorry because my teammates worked very hard, anꦬd they really wanted me to win here," Petacchi said quietly, praising the efforts of Alessandro Spezialetti in particular. "It was a nice stage too - fast, although ma🍷ybe there was a bit too much of a headwind."

With pure bunch finishes at a premium in this Giro, Petacchi🥂, Cavendish et al know that they have limited opportunity to shi🐼ne before the mountains loom definitively into view.

Were there any lessons Petacchi could take from this defeat ahead of what many feel will be the final remaining sprint showdown in Ravenna on Thursday? "I don't need to learn. I've been doing sprints for 16 years," Petacꦬchi growled.

Ten days into the race, the score in the Giro's much-anticipated sprint m🉐atch reads Cavendish 1, Petacchi 1. Next goal wi🗹ns.