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Bettini holds off Petacchi for win

Bettini (above) almost ran out of room when challenged by Petacchi

VALLADOLID, Spain -- Olympic champion Paolo Bettini of Italy held off a late surge from compatriot Alessandro Petacchi to win the 16th stage of the Tour of Spain, 162.5 kilometers from Leon and Valladolid.

Bettini, who rides for Quick Step, almost ran out of space as Petacchi, of Fassa Bortolo, burst through on his outside.

Overall leader Spaniard Roberto Heras kept out of trouble on the mainly flat stage and stayed 4 minutes 30 seconds ahead of Russian Denis Menchov.

Spaniard Carlos Sastre, of CSC, remained third overall at 4:50.

Super sprinter Petacchi, whose departure from the race was announced by organizers a few days ago - only for the Italian to present himself at the start - looked to be well on his way to claiming his fifth stage win of this year's race as the finish line appeared after a tight, final bend.

However, despite being well led out by his disciplined team members on the way in to the finish line, a number of attacks conspired to upset the sprinter's plans.

A late burst by Spaniard Samuel Sanchez of the Euskaltel team appeared briefly promising but only served to prompt Bettini into making a move himself.

The diminutive Italian soon overtook Sanchez but had to dig deep in the final 100 meters to hold off Petacchi who was coming up steadily on his left hand side.

At the finish line, Petacchi finished in second place ahead of Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero, who rides for Phonak.

Petacchi could yet quit the race before the end on September 18. The 31-year-old Italian is one of the favorites for the world road race championship in Madrid in just over 10 days time.

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