Petacchi makes it three in a row

Milram's team captain Alessandro Petacchi proved unstoppable Thurdsay as he took his third consecutive stage win on the final day of racing at the Vuelta a Andalucía. Petacchi finished in front of Frenchman Denis Flahaut (Saunier Duval) and German Sebastian Siedler (Skil Shimano).

"I'm overjoyed," said Italian sprint star Petacchi. "I want to say special thanks to my team, who did such an excellent job for me. I hope that I will be able to get into even better shape in order to be successful in the first really big race of the season for me, which is of course Milano-San Remo."

Spaniard Pablo Lastras Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne) was able to secure the final GC win. After thanking his team and his manager José Luis Jaimerena for their support, Lastras said, "Cordoba is a city that really looks nice to me. It is here indeed that I won a stage of the Vuelta a España in 2002. Now I will focus on my next goals, which are Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo."