ROSSANO VENETO, Italy, 19 May 2005 — Australian sprint ace Robbie McEwen, of the Davitamon team, held off Italian Alessandro Petacchi to win the 10th stage of the Tour of Italy in a photo-finish here yesterday.
It was 32-year-old McEwen’s third stage win of the Giro and his eighth stage win since 2002.
However, his joy was slightly tempered as the Italian anti-drugs squad launched an operation into his team, confiscating a hypobaric tent which recreates a high-altitude environment and contravenes Italian law.
Hypobaric tents are often used by endurance sportsmen as they simulate conditions where less oxygen is available and aid the formation of red blood cells in the body.
Italian Danilo Di Luca, riding for Liquigas, retained the pink jersey of the overall leader. Third place in the sprint finish went to Australian Stuart O’Grady, who came home ahead of German veteran Erik Zabel and Italian Olympic road race champion Paolo Bettini.
The riders set an easy-going 31.6 kph average over the first three hours of the race over largely flat terrain and there was only one breakaway, by Italian Raffaelle Illiano after 113 kilometers. The peloton caught up with Illiano 70 kilometers on and remained tightly grouped until the final run-in, three circuits of 5.2 kilometers.
Horrillo Takes Surprise
Win in Catalonia
In La Granada, Spaniard Pedro Horrillo grabbed a surprise lone win with a well-timed attack in the final kilometer of stage three of the Tour of Catalonia yesterday.
The Rabobank rider took advantage of a slightly uphill finish to break away close to the finish of the 157.8 km stage from Salou to La Granada.
He crossed the line just a few meters ahead of the main bunch but with enough time to savor the flavor of his first win of the season. Leading in the pack for second place was Norwegian Thor Hushovd while Italian Claudio Corioni was third, the pair reversing the order in which they finished Tuesday’s second stage.
Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero continued as race leader for the third day running. Strong tailwinds had kept the pace high throughout the stage, with the one survivor of an early attack, Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha, reeled in by the sprinters’ teams in the final kilometer.
