In a close finish, Ale-Jet Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) sprinted to

his second victory of the 2005 season. Petacchi beat a

who's who of sprinters with a fantastic come from behind

win on a blinding fast stage that denied Max Van Heeswijk

the first win for the Discovery Channel team.



"I had to sprint from behind today because I was boxed in," Petacchi said afterhis win today. "My teammates pulled for the entire stage except for the last 2 km, when we were swarmed by Quick.Step, who were leading out Boonen. I jumped early and caught van Heeswijk, who already had a bike length advantage and I got him just in the final metres."



51st Vuelta Andalucía / Ruta Ciclista del Sol

Thurdsay, February 16

La Guardia de Jaén-Cordoba /162 km

1. Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Fassa Bortolo / 3h38'31"

2. Max Van Heeswijk (NED) Discovery

3. Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step

4. Óscar Freire (SPA) Rabobank

5. Erik Zabel (GER) T-Mobile Team