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Petacchi sprints to stage victory
 Petacchi proved too strong for Zabel (left) and Boonen (right) on stage three PUERTOLLANO, Spain -- Alessandro Petacchi's build-up to the world championships got off to a fine start when he won stage three of the Tour of Spain from Cordoba to Puertollano. The Fassa Bortolo rider easily outclassed German Erik Zabel and Belgian Tom Boonen in the first bunch sprint of this year's race. Italian Petacchi is the strong favorite to succeed Oscar Freire as world road-race champion on September 25 in Madrid. "I couldn't get over the last climb on Sunday with the best, but today was flatter, so I seized my chance," said Petacchi. Referring to himself, Zabel, Boonen and Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who placed fourth in Puertollano, Petacchi said "the four best sprinters in the world are here in Spain." "But when I accelerated at the finish I maintained my advantage, so that was encouraging for now and for the worlds in Madrid." With temperatures soaring to over 40 degrees during the short 153.3km stage northwards from Andalucia into the country's central plains, Petacchi said the intense heat had made the race much more difficult than it looked on paper. "Forty five degrees sometimes on Sunday, 42 today," he said. "No doctor would recommend you ride a bike in this kind of weather." One of the most successful sprinters of all time, Monday's win was Petacchi's 13th stage victory in the Tour of Spain and 36th in a major Tour. Barring a long-range solo move by Spaniard Javier Pascual Rodriguez as the race headed north from Andalucia into the country's central plains, attacks were notable by their absence. After Pascual Rodriguez was reeled in 26km from the finish, Petacchi's team workers in Fassa Bortolo rode at a fierce pace to ensure the sprinter kept all his options open. Bradley McGee continued as Australia's first ever race leader for a second day.. The Francaise des Jeux rider showed he was determined to remain ahead when he snapped up a third place and two second places in intermediate sprints. McGee secured 10 bonus seconds, increasing his overall advantage to 32 seconds over Italian Leonardo Bertagnolli, Sunday's stage winner, and 39 seconds over Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha. 
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