Cycling: Petacchi joins élite group

Alessandro Petacchi recorded his second stage win in three days in the Tour of Spain in Zaragoza yesterday. It was the Italian sprinter's 21st victory of the season and his 12th stage win in a major Tour this year - six in the Giro, four in the Tour de France and now two in Spain.

The Spaniard Isidro Nozal kept the overall lead after finishing in 25th place while Petacchi is 111th overall, nearly 15 minutes adrift.

Only two other riders, the Spaniard Miguel Poblet and the Italian Pierino Baffi, both more than four decades ago, have managed stage wins in all three major Tours in the same year.

Petacchi, 29, crossed the line in 3hrs 19min 26sec, over a bike's length ahead of Spain's Angel Edo. Julian Dean of New Zealand was third, two seconds behind at the head of the peloton that included Nozal.

"I wanted a second win here today because people might say that one win was a fluke, but two is a total nobody can argue with," Petacchi said. He also fancies further success on the way to Madrid, adding: "There are several stages in the second week which suit me, and I want to take the points jersey as well."