Petacchi outgrows Team Lampre-Farnese
Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi took a surprising first place in the fourth stage of the 2010 Tour de France, while riding for last-place Team Lampre-Farnese.
The fourth was a flat stage, 153.5 km long, from Cambrai to Reims, the first stage entirely in France. In the final sprint of the race, Petacchi had to face all the best sprinters. Mark Cavendish, often called the world’s best sprinter, stumbled when Petacchi attacked, and young contender Tyler Farrar was absent due to an injury. Farrar’s team Garmin was still well-represented, with riders finishing in second and fifth, which only served to egg Petacchi on for his second stage win.
“Today I proved I could win in all circumstances,” said Petacchi to the Tour press after his win. “I’ve heard more or less some comments saying that the victory was that of Brussels ’old man’, but this time I have received no advantage because of crashes of my rivals.
"I want to thank my team because it is through them that I participate again in races at this level. Now, with two wins, I could very well go home and consider that my job is finished," Petacchi continued. "Two wins on the Tour de France is already exceptional. Besides, after the first, I was talking with Oscar Freire and he told me that I could already taste my Tour, that everything else is a bonus. But I do not quite see things this way. I’m here to win stages, and I’ll keep trying to do just that."
Petacchi’s win in the first stage of the 2010 Tour won him the green jersey, awarded to the rider with the highest points classification. He lost the jersey to Thor Hushovd in the third stage, who remains in the points lead despite the Italian’s victory today.
“I don’t know what happened at the finish today I just had nothing in the legs when I started to sprint,” said Hushovd of his ninth place finish. “I just felt tired and I couldn’t go in the last couple of hundred meters. Yesterday and the day before I went really deep and I think I’m paying for it now. I still have a lead in the green jersey competition but you saw today that I lost a lot of points to Petacchi and McEwen and, like I’ve always said, I need to stay focused and take it day by day.”
“Petacchi is a threat to the green jersey. He seems really strong now and, if he wants to, he can make it all the way to Paris," Hushovd continued. "I’m surprised by how well Alessandro is going. I know he’s a good, strong rider but to come back to the Tour de France like he has is impressive.”
The 36-year-old sprinter has been cycling professionally since 1996. He holds the record for most stage wins in the Giro d’Italia, topping the points classification in 2004. He joined Team Milram in 2006, where he won stages in all three Grand Tours with his intense speed.
Despite breaking his kneecap in the third stage of the 2006 Giro d'Italia, he rode to the stage finish before dropping out of the Tour. He returned the next year to win five stages, which made him the cyclist with the most UCI ProTour victories, 21.
When he tested positive for the asthma drug salbutamol, he was forced to miss the Tour de Francein 2007. The Italian Cycling Federation ruled that the overuse of was likely accidental, but ruled that Petacchi has not shown "utmost caution.” While Petacchi maintained that he had done no wrong, the controversy cause him to be fired by Team Milram.
Petacchi was selected to ride the 2009 Giro d'Italia, where he won the second and third stages and wore the cyclamen jersey for four stages and the pink jersey on the third stage.
For the 2010 season, Petacchi has signed with Team Lampre-Farnese.
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