Freire takes third consecutive leg
 |  Freire has been in sensational form with three stage wins this week |
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SERVIGLIANO, Italy -- World champion Oscar Freire took his third consecutive stage win in the Tirreno-Adriatico to extended his overall lead.
The Spaniard used his climbing skills at the end of the hilly 172km stage from Teramo before sprinting powerfully in the final 200 metres.
Germany's Danilo Hondo was second and Fabrizio Guidi of Italy third, while Alessandro Petacchi was only fifth after suffering with leg cramps on the last climb.
"I won today because all the hills during the stage made it a hard day's racing and so the other sprinters were tired," Freire said.
"I felt good and so I got my Rabobank team to chase down the attacks in the final part of the stage and set me up for the sprint.
"I had to fight my way to the front in the final meters but it wasn't as bad as yesterday when I was pushed into the barriers, so I had plenty of time to get past Guidi."
The stage was characterised by several attacks in the hills close to the finish.
Olympic champion Paolo Bettini of Italy showed he is slowly coming into form with a move 30km from the finish, while compatriots Danilo Di Luca of the Liquigas team and Emanuele Sella of Ceramica Panaria attacked on the final climb.
Freire's Rabobank team mates worked hard to bring the field back together and set up their leader for his third consecutive stage win. He now leads the overall standings by 23 seconds from Hondo and Petacchi.
Sunday's fifth stage is a 170km circuit around the Adriatic coast town of Saltara and is expected to finish in another mass sprint.
