Tour of Spain: Zülle stays in front as Italian takes eighth stage
Italy's Alessandro Petacchi won the eighth stage of the Tour of Spain over 168.5 kilometres between Vinaros and Port Aventura on Saturday. Switzerland's Alex Zülle, however, kept his hold on the overall lead.
Petacchi, racing for Fasso Bortolo, sprinted to victory ahead of compatriots Biagio Conte and Giovanni Lombardi in a stage marked most significantly by the number of big names that were forced out of the race.
World Champion, Oscar Freire, who had won two stages in the Vuelta this year was forced to throw in the towel, as was former Giro d’Italia winner, Ivan Gotti, after battling a fever for two days.
Spain’s José-Maria Jimenez, fifth in 1999 and third in 1998, also pulled out, along with former French Champion Eddy Seigneur.
Unai Etxebarria, winner of the GP Primavera, for his part had a nasty fall, injuring his head, and fracturing his right arm.
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