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Hushovd defeats Petacchi in sprint

Hushovd (left green) shows his power by just getting up in stage four

ROME, Italy -- Norway's Thor Hushovd won the 219km fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race on Saturday, outsprinting Alessandro Petacchi of Italy.

Petacchi's Milram team led out the sprint on the straight seafront finish at Civitanova Marche and the Italian looked set to win.

But the 28 year-old Hushovd had the power to fight the strong head wind and won by half a wheel.

Spain's Oscar Freire finished third and extended his overall race lead thanks to a four-second time bonus.

Italians Alessandro Ballan and Luca Mazzanti are second and third overall, both 14 seconds behind Freire.

Hushovd won stages of the Tour de France in 2002 and 2004, and his victory against Petacchi makes him a favorite for next Saturday's prestigious Milan-San Remo race. Last year, the Credit Agricole rider finished third behind Petacchi and Germany's Danilo Hondo.

"I'm really happy to have beaten Petacchi a week before Milan-San Remo," Hushovd said. "Petacchi and Tom Boonen are always the toughest to beat in a sprint and so winning this stage means a lot to me."

The Norwegian added: "It was a difficult sprint because of the strong head wind and the road was a bit slippery too. When it's like that you need a lot of power and I know I can do well in those conditions."

Petacchi said: "I made the mistake of telling my team mate Erik Zabel to pull over too soon. The head wind made things difficult and the truth is I went too early.

"I never like losing, especially after the team has worked hard for me but I showed on the climb near the end of the stage that I'm riding well. Milan-San Remo is the big objective. I know I've got good form and can win it."

Sunday's fifth stage is a 20-m individual time trial around Servigliano in the central Marche region of Italy.

The Tirreno-Adriatico ends on Tuesday.

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